The Way of the Kaizoku
by Alter Shead
Summary: 10 years after the execution of the Second Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy, the age of piracy was re-newed. Now, on a more advanced world, people still set sail on a grand journey for the One Piece... and their dreams! ACCEPTING YOUR CHARACTERS AND OCs!
1. Prologue

_The first Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and then the second Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy. Both were icons and Legends for everything that stood as piracy in the world. They were the elements of every pirate's dream, fulfilled their own dreams and got what every man would want in the world: fame, money and wealth._

_But most importantly, nakama._

_And as the execution of the second Pirate King re-newed the age of piracy, more and more people keep travelling to find the wished One Piece. And now, 10 years later, in a more evolved world, people still set sail to reach their goals, and fulfill their dreams._

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"Damn it, where are my maps?" was the question raised by a boy with dark browns eyes, messy dark-brown hair, a black headband going across his forehead with a picture of a white skull getting its left eye socket crossed by an arrow, blue cargo shorts, a short sleeved, orange jacket that was unbuttoned, showing his chest and abs, and sandals. "Do these guys think these maps can be re-done in seconds?"

He opened the door of his small room, and just outside, on the deck of the ship, was a group of pirates, having fun, chunking down bottles, after bottles, after bottles of rum. Three of those pirates were playing violins, while singing the Bink's Sake song. Someone then tapped him on the shoulder, and as the boy turned around, he was greeted with a strong jab to the face.

"Hey Jin, what makes ya think ya can't party wit' us?" said the grinning figure of a middle-aged man, with a gray beard that went down to his belly. He was a bit bald, with little hair on the sides of his head, an eye patch on his right eye, whilst his left had a scar across it. He had bloodshot pupils, and his long grin exposed his golden teeth. He also wore a dark blue shirt, a silk, white belt and red pants, with black boots. "As Captain of this ship, I feel outraged if I ain't seein' one of my men having no fun!"

"But Capt. Graybeard, I was only looking for my maps!"

"You mean this here?" One of the pirates shouted from the back, as he was seen wiping his face with a piece of paper. Jin then got a tick mark on his forehead, as he went into comical anger.

"YOU BAKA, THAT'S THE MAP WE NEED TO GET TO THE RED LINE! HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO EVEN GET OUT OF THE SOUTH BLUE NOW??" it was then followed by Jin's hands getting encased with water. "Mizu Mizu no PISTOL!!!", as he sent a combo of two punches to his pirate comrade, nailing him with two fist-shaped, watery projectiles, sending him crashing against the ship's mast, nearly knocking it over. He then picked the piece of paper up, and sighed as he noticed it had multiple rum stains all over it.

"Well, how is it? Can ya still use it?" Capt. Graybeard asked.

"Nope, it's too dirty, I can't read the details! I guess I'll go back to…" Although our friend Jin didn't get to finish his sentence, as noticed his captain's evil smirk.

"What did I tell ya a few seconds ago…?" an evil, shady figure rose right in front of Jin, scaring the living wits out of him. Moments later, Jin was intoxicated to the brim, parts of his body now encased in water, boiling and bubbling, steam coming out of those same spots, while Captain Graybeard laughed hysterically at the scene before him.

However, nobody noticed two other missing pirates, sitting on the figurehead of the ship, away from all the rowdiness. One of them was an overweight, bald man, wearing a short sleeved, green-striped shirt, with white pants that seem to be ripped and thus, only went down to his knees, exposing his hairy, and ironically, skinny legs. He wore brown shoes, and had dark eyes. On his left side was his supposed comrade, a tall, skinny man with brown, dirty hair, brown eyes, blue-striped shirt, black pants and brown shoes. He also wore a blue bandana, hiding part of his hair, only showing a few groups of strands here and there. This last man smirked.

"So Ed, can you tell me anything about that kid?" the tall man asked, earning him a a nodding glance.

"Damn right, that's the kid that the captain hired to work for him as the ship's navigator… or so I've heard… Seems like he was here way before us!" the man named Ed answered, noticibly carrying a brittish accent. "I also heard around that he's a Devil Fruit user. He ate the Mizu Mizu no Mi, which is a Logia type that gives him complete control over water! But don't worry Kane, he won't stop us from going ahead with our plans!" followed then by the usual evil laughter which, surprisingly, no one heard.

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**Prologue**

**Mutiny, A New Start for the Water Boy**

"AAARGH, RED OCTOPUS!!!" one of the pirates screamed, a red, octopus-like creature rose from the seas. "Damn, that has to be at least 65 ft. tall! Shame these red octopuses don't have much to eat from!" said the ship's cook, as he looked up. "STOP THINKING ABOUT COOKING FOR A MINUTE!!" the other pirates yelled, in comical anger.

Jin quickly opened the door of his room, and as he looked up to the gigantic monster before him, his grin got bigger. "Finally, an occasion to fight, and I WAS getting a bit fat on the sides!"

As he said that last sentence, he jumped high in the air, landing on the ship's gaff and threw his fists back. "Mizu Mizu no Pistol!" A combo of two punches was thrown to the red octopus, crashing down on it, pushing it a few feet away from the ship. "I guess that at that distance, it won't disturb the ship's sailing stability! And now, Mizu Mizu no…" Jin got himself in some sort of diving position, throwing his hands straight forward, and rising his fingers.

"… TORPEDO!!" he then dove in an horizontal position, water surrounding his body, making him look like a blue comet, and he hit the octopus, passed through it and came on the other side, piercing the monster. The pirates back at the ship looked at the scene, mouths gape wide, watching the octopus, now dead, sink into the sea.

"That was so cool! Did you see what he did? That's badass, alright!" those were examples of the many comments that the pirates used to evaluate the scene that had just depicted before them. "Hey, where is Jin, anyway?" Captain Graybeard asked, and when they all looked closely, they sighed, as they saw Jin falling into the ocean in a comical way, struggling not to drown.

"I knew that it was too cool to be true!" Captain Graybeard sighed once again, looking at Ed and Kane. "You two, go in there and get Jin back!"

Ed and Kane looked at each other, and grins spread across their faces, as they nodded and dived into the water, returning moments later with Jin, now unconscious.

----------

The days had gone as usual, and the more days that passed, the more monsters they were forced to fight against. And as this day rose, everyone began waking up. Though the morning didn't go as peaceful as usual, due to a certain attack by the Giant Dog Fish, a gigantic fish that resembled a dog; a species of fish natural from the South Blue.

In the end, it gave the whole crew food for about 3 days, thanks to Jin, who in the right time gave that creature a show of his Mizu Mizu no Pistol attack. At lunch, everybody is eating as rowdily as possible, stealing each other's meals and getting themselves wasted with rum, as Jin just rolled his eyes, sitting next to the captain.

"And then some wonder why the rum's always gone…" Jin thought to himself, even snickering a bit to himself.

"So boy, how much time d'you think that little battle with the Dog-Fish took us?" Captain Graybeard asked casually, in which Jin didn't even bother to look at, lazily inclining his chair.

"About a few minutes, though it could of taken a lot more if it hadn't been for me!" Jin said, smirking, only to earn him a jab from his captain, knocking him off his chair.

"DON'T BE SO COCKY, BRAT!" Captain Graybeard said, laughing to himself, as Jin smiled and stood once again to his feet. The captain then turned his head and some considerable miles ahead he could see land. "Hey Jin, is that our next stop?"

Jin took a quick glance, and nodded. "Yep, that's it, alright! Our final stop before heading towards the Red Line!"

"Not likely…" a voice said, as Jin looked behind him and, in the blink of an eye, got kicked in the head, crashing against the door to his room, which stood next to the deck. As he got up, he saw who they were.

"Ed? Kane? What the hell's wrong with you two?" Jin said, as he stood up, a trickle of blood now falling his mouth.

"We're taking this ship, and stopping you and that bloody captain from giving us a one way trip to hell!" Ed said, as all the pirates that once happily drank and ate were now rising from their sits, and smiling evilly at Jin and Captain Graybeard.

"Trip to Hell? I thought this was what you wanted, to sail the Grand Line and find the One Piece!" Captain Graybeard said, now looking mighty confused, but that earned him the same kick that Jin received, crashing against the ship's mast.

"WHAT WE WANTED? PLEASE, YOU MORON, LIKE YOU WOULD EVER FIND IT WITHOUT TAKING AWAY OUR LIVES! WE ONLY CAME HERE TO GET YOUR SHIP!" Kane said, as he grabbed a few ropes, and looked at the other pirates. "C'mon you lazy slugs, tie that lame excuse for a captain and make him walk the plank… the old fashioned way!" he added those final words with a psychotic smile plastered to his face, as the others did as instructed, picking Graybeard up. Though their actions didn't go any further, as…

"MIZU MIZU NO CHAIN!!!" yelled Jin, as his right leg extended in a watery substance and had now the shape of a chain, batting the pirates away from his captain, sending them all crashing against the rails. "Get your dirty hands off the Captain!"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Water Boy, here to play the good guy's role! Listen kid, it's useless, just look up!" Kane said, pointing upwards. Jin looked slowly up, and his eyes opened wide in shock, as above him stood something that most Devil Fruit users feared the most: a Seasalt net.

"T-T-That's a Seasalt net! Why'd you keep something like that with you?" Jin said, and then he saw a pirate up on the mast, cutting the ropes that hung the net in place. The net then fell down, and when Jin was about to move away, he noticed Kane placing his hand on his pants. "And prepare yourself, cause…"Kane then got a remote control from his pants' pocket, and pressed the red button, as Jin then felt an electric shock surge through, a current flowing through his body could even be visible to the naked eye. Jin then stood on one knee, preventing himself from falling down. A bit of smoke started coming from his clothes, as the net then fell violently down on him. Ed then stepped forward.

"In case you're wondering how you got shocked like that, I'll be glad to explain it! You see, a few days back, when you fought against that Red Octopus…"

----------

"_You two, go in there and get Jin back!" Captain Graybeard said, as Ed and Kane dove underwater, and swam around until they saw Jin's body sinking deeper and deeper into the water. A few seconds later, they managed to get a hold of him. Ed then smiled to Kane, as he placed a microchip on Jin's left ankle, the chip implanting itself on Jin's skin._

_They then swam to the surface as fast as they could, their breaths running short. They then emerged in the surface, as their fellow pirates cheered back on board, and Graybeard smiled to them._

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"Damn it, I should've gone in there to get Jin back, not you two scumbags!" Graybeard said, angrily, but Ed and Kane could only laugh.

"You didn't have much choice, old fool! If you did that, you would've spared all of this trouble, as we would've had just run away with this ship!" Kane said, in between laughs.

Jin kept struggling to remove the net from him, though second by second, his powers were weakening due to the awful effect that Seasalt had on Devil Fruit users. When they noticed Jin was starting to find ways to remove the net, a bullet hit a spot on the floor that stood mere inches away from his feet.

"Make no move, or else you'll find soon that the net isn't the only thing that's made of Seasalt! Even the bullets we have are made of Seasalt, so one hit and you can say goodbye!" Kane said, as he used his index finger to spin his gun around by the trigger zone. Jin just sighed, as he rose his hands up, in defeat. He had to find another way to save the captain and himself, though for now a strategic retreat was needed.

----------

Captain Graybeard was now walking on the plank, taking slow steps. The clouds were now gathering and getting darker and darker by the second, and a few thunders could be heard from afar. Jin was how chained with Seasalt shackles, being grabbed by the shoulders by Ed. Jin tried to struggle, but then he saw Graybeard turning around, and shooting him a smile, which shocked Jin to the very core of his being.

"_He-He's smiling, even though he's walking on the plank… He isn't afraid to die… Is he mad, or too brave?!?"_

"Heh, I guess I'm dead, ain't I?" he said, smiling as one of the pirates then bumped him with the edge of his falchion, taking off his balance. As Graybeard was now ready to fall, Jin closed his eyes and concentrated to his fullest, as his hands had now taken the form of blades, slipping through the chains. "Mizu Mizu no Sword, SLASH!!" Rapidly, he sliced the necks of the nearest pirates, and kicked Ed square in the jaw, while using his left elbow to hit Kane in his crotch, as he dropped to the ground in agony.

"Argh, son of a…"

Jin ran as quick as he could, reaching his hand out for Graybeard's. "C'MON, GIVE ME YOUR HAND!" Graybeard saw him and tried extending his hand out. As Jin was now inches away from catching his captain, a thunder suddenly hit the ship, destroying parts of it, such as mast, bridge, deck, gaff and setting the other places on fire. Dozens of whirlpools then suddenly formed around the ship and came crashing down on it, destroying the ship and sending everyone down to the sea. Jin was now struggling to swim, but the violent currents came crashing down on him.

"CAPTAIN, WHERE ARE YOU? CAPTAIN!!!" Jin yelled, as the last thing he saw was his captain getting carried away by the whirlpools.

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Jin slowly opened his eyes, and noticed he was lying in a room. He looked at this surroundings, his vision still blurry.

"_Was it… was it all a dream? Am I still in the ship? What…"_ Jin heard a door opening, and looked to his right side, where he saw a figure reaching to him.

"Hey, are you alright? Those are quite the bruises you got there!" the voice was distorted, and Jin didn't get his lights on for long, as he went unconscious once again, losing the little awareness of his surroundings.

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

Yes, this is one of those stories where you can put your characters in! Chose a spot, and fill in the following.

Name:

Age:

Race: (human or not, as long as the species are from One Piece)

Weapons/Powers:

Position:

Personality:

Background Story: (history of their past)

Dream:

Likes/Dislikes:

That's that! Review away, and see you on the next chapter!


	2. Pride on the Dagger's Reflection I

Slowly, Jin's eyes opened, and it took him a while before getting used to the light. He looked down, his vision blurry, but he noticed certain limbs of his, such as legs and torso, were now covered in bandages. Taking more time to let his brain process every bit of information he gathered from his surroundings, he came to a conclusion: he was lying in a bed, the orange covers on him, reaching his shoulders. He gently threw the covers aside, his body still sore, and turned to the right side of the bed, a window right in front of him. When he tried standing up, laying his legs on the floor, he felt a surge of pain running through his body, as he was forced to lie down on the bed. Then, he heard a door opening, and struggling, he turned his head to the side.

"So, you finally woke up, huh?" a voice came from the door, as he took in the details of the person before him.

It was a boy, wearing a loose black hat, a white long sleeved shirt and black tights and white tennis. Beneath his hat could still be noticed a few bangs of red hair hanging in front of his eyes. Said eyes were yellowish green; Jin's eyes opened a bit more as he walked up to him, as Jin tensed up a bit, not knowing what was coming. In an instant, as by instinct, he stood from the bed, though he comically slipped, and landed on his face, on the hard and cold floor next to the bed. The boy noticeably suppressed a laugh, as Jin struggled to get up.

----------

"So you're a pirate, huh? That's all you remember?" the boy, who told Jin his name was Chris Hopkins, asked him, in which Jin slowly nodded.

"Yeah, it is! I also remember that I'm a navigator!" Jin said, as he tried once again to get up, now being less painful. He tried to take a few steps, and when he was taking a step, he slipped once again. Chris tried to stop his fall, though stopped once he noticed something very unusual from Jin: his arms were now releasing water jets that were able to help him maintain his balance. Chris raised an eyebrow. "Are you a Devil Fruit user?"

"Huh yeah, I am! I ate the Mizu Mizu no Mi, which gives me the power to control water!" Jin then sat on the bed, a huge puddle of water extending itself on the floor. "You're gonna clean that up!" Chris told him, as Jin just sighed lazily, and leaned down to touch the puddle. The water that was once on the ground started going back to Jin's body, leaving the floor dry, as if no puddle had ever been there before. Jin then lied down once again. "How did I get here?" Jin asked Chris.

"I brought you here! I was taking a stroll around the shore, when I noticed…"

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"… _someone being brought by an incoming wave!"_

_Chris was walking around the shore, when a large wave came crashing down on the shore. This would've been the most common sight for Chris, but his eyes opened in shock when the wave cleared, and a body of a person was now lying on the wet sand. Chris stood over the said body, and intertwining his hands, pumped the person's chest, as huge amounts of water were spat violently. Jin then opened his eyes, as he looked at the person before him._

"_C-C-Captain… G-G-G-Gray… B-Beard…."_

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**Pride on the Dagger's Reflection (I)**

**Chris Hopkins vs. Dirty Harry**

"So, that's what happened? Where am I, anyways?" Jin asked, looking once more at his surroundings. Chris turned away, staring at the window. "You're in Fuschia Town!"

Jin then shot his eyes, a few flashes and memories coming back to him.

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"_YOU BAKA, THAT'S THE MAP WE NEED TO GET TO THE RED LINE! HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO EVEN GET OUT OF THE SOUTH BLUE NOW??"_

----------

His heartbeat was speeding up by the second, and suddenly, it hit him.

"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Jin said, getting up violently and walking towards the window, shoving Chris aside, and looking at the view outside. The once traditional Fuschia Town had now evolved to a certain degree, as hovering, metal cars now flood the street, and a few neighborhoods were now composed of steel buildings, instead of the traditional wood or granite. He looked around, looking for any plaque that would prove that he was truly in Fuschia Town. Once he looked at his very left, he saw it a bit afar. A hovering plaque, with the words "Welcome to Fuschia Town" could be visible a bit far away, as Jin then left the room in a rush, with Chris following him in case he slipped once again. Jin now stood outside, eyeing the house he had been in.

It was a traditional house, a wooden roof and wooden walls, everything in the traditional way that people used to build their houses. Jin sighed, as Chris went outside and noticed his bandages now gaining more and more shades of red.

"You idiot, what the hell are you thinking? Your wounds aren't even close to healing, and I'm not a doctor! So don't think that I'll be paying a doctor to give you treatments or anything once that gets worse…"

"I was sailing on the South Blue…"

"SO DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT… come again?"

"Before all of this, I remember I was sailing on the South Blue! Then something else happened…"

Chris stood silent, and closed his eyes in deep thought. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, there were cases of people who lost their memories, and then it took time for them to gather up their memories. And sometimes, they would remember of things that never did happen. In Jin's case, he had to be experiencing something like that, because it's simply impossible for someone to sail the South Blue, and end up on the shore of Fuschia Town, an island in the middle of the East Blue.

"And I know it seems impossible, because to come from the South Blue to the East Blue would take a voyage through the Calm Belt, but… I know this is what happened!" Jin said, sighing.

A long silence filled the air, both not saying a word. Suddenly, a huge mob was now crossing the street in the front of Chris's house, and Jin just raised an eyebrow at the scene before him.

"Hey Chris, what's going on? What's with all these people?" Jin asked, curiosity striking him like a bolt. Chris just sighed at the scene.

"This is always the same thing. Once in every week, groups of people decide to "Play Marines" and go after pirates who arrive at their docks, so they can deliver their «justice»!"

"Justice? What justice? What have pirates ever done to them? I mean, c'mon, the Second Pirate King was even from this town!"

"I know, they even raised a statue of him in the Main Street, right in the center of the town!" Chris said, but then her expression darkened. "But they're not just after any type of pirate…. they're looking for pirates who are Devil Fruit Users!"

"…" Jin then broke into a hysterical laughter, tears starting to form on his eyes, even falling and rolling on the ground, as Chris just rolled her eyes, and watched as the shades of red in Jin's bandages got wider and wider by the second. "Oh my God, that's gotta be the biggest joke ever! Since when do people even care about Devil Fruits?"

"Ever since the Devil's Massacre!" Chris simply said which brought Jin back from Laughter-Land. "The… Devil's Massacre?" Jin asked, not knowing if he had heard it right or not. "Yep, that's right, the Devil's Massacre! I heard that it happened 9 years ago! A huge group of demented pirates, all with Devil Fruit abilities, plundered, destroyed and exterminated hundreds of islands all around the Blues!" the more Jin listened to Chris, the less real the story seemed. How could there be such a huge group of pirates, big enough to devastate the millions of islands all around the world?

"There are many conspiracy theories! Many believe that, once the Second Pirate King was executed, the World Government took extreme measures to clear the world of Pirates, so they disguised Marines as Pirates, and gave them artificial powers with their most advanced technology!" Chris said, and Jin felt that it was a pretty valid AND reasonable theory. "Others believe it was a plan from a criminal organization of pirates from the Grand Line to extend their territory out into the Blues!" Jin also thought that the second theory was also reasonable, for the Grand Line hid truly psychotic maniacs.

"Well, let's go see what those detectives found out!" Jin proposed, as he ran to reach the mob, with Chris following him, but not even bothering to run.

----------

Jin and Chris were now walking by the shore, a road close to the beach that led to the docks. Many hovering cars passed by them, a few mere inches from the grounds. The occasional crash could sometimes be seen, though it wasn't alarming at all.

Jin then looked out at the sea, and saw something emerge from the water. It had the appearance of a giant, brown eel, with blue fins and red eyes. It roared at the shore, though Jin and Chris couldn't figure out why. They were walking on a road that stood many ft. from the beach, and a small wall had been built there, slightly blocking their view. Once Jin inclined onto the small wall, his eyes shot open as a small, brunette girl, with dark, long hair that reached her shoulders and hid her eyes, dressed in a dark-green dress stood at the shore, looking at that Sea King, covering herself in fear. Jin then jumped to the beach, and picked up the girl, with Chris following right behind him.

"HEY, WAIT, YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECOVERED…"

"TAKE HER AWAY FROM HERE; I DON'T CARE IF I'M IN NO CONDITION! IT'S NOT LIKE YOU CAN FIGHT, ANYWAYS…"

"Hey now, WAIT JUST A MINUTE THERE, YOU MACHIST BAST…"

"GOO, JUST GO!"

Chris shot him a death glare, though he still picked up the shaking girl, and got back into the road, hiding behind that small wall.

Jin then looked back at the monster, which lunged at him, jaws opened wide. A second before the Lord of the Coast could chomp him, Jin jumped high in the air, avoiding that death crunch. He then extended his arms, one slightly more than the other and curled his fists.

"Mizi Mizu no PISTOL!!" A combo of two punches resulted into two fist-shaped, watery projectiles being lunged at the Sea Monster, though before they hit, the monster dove underwater. Jin then landed on the sand, and another surge of pain flowed through his body, this one more powerful than the last ones he had. "Shit…" The monster then rapidly emerged from underwater, and lunged straight forward at Jin. As fast as he could, he rolled out of the way, just in time as he saw the monster pass by his side, jaws merely savoring the closeness of the attack. But then he looked back at the road, where the Sea King was seconds' way from colliding with, and saw Chris standing there with the little girl on his arms.

"CHRIS, RUN!!" Jin said, as he prepared to stand in the way of the monster once again, though…

"AAARGH!!!" Jin yelled in pain, as a familiar electric current passed through his body, having even more effect due to his water abilities. Jin then fell to one knee, memories now starting to flood into his memory, once again.

----------

_Jin slowly opened his eyes, the scene belonging to Jin's point of view. He was paralyzed, and he was quickly sinking into the ocean. His vision became blurry by the second. He closed his eyes, and in what seemed like half a second, he re-opened them to find a tall, skinny man and an overweight man swimming for him._

_Next, he saw the overweight man place something on his left leg. Then, it was lights out for Jin again, as darkness took over his plain vision._

----------

Jin then took a quick glance at his left ankle, the one that was currently supporting his balance, though he found nothing out of ordinary. He rapidly looked back at Chris, who was moments away from being Sea King's food.

"C-Chris…" Jin said weakly, as he saw Chris and little girl awfully close to the Lord's jaws. Suddenly, much to Jin's shock, Chris jumped high in the air, even higher than Jin, at the last second, avoiding the Sea King's jaws. The monster ended up colliding with the road, its body now lying on the sand of the small beach, squirming around. The Sea King then looked at Chris and the little girl, his eyes full of blind rage. Though, once he looked at the little girl's eyes, his rage started flooding away, his rampaging expression now being exchanged for one full of fear. Chris then landed, rolling on the ground. "NOW JIN, DO SOMETHING, OR HE'LL STRIKE AGAIN!!" Jin nodded, as he slowly lifted himself up, and extended his right leg. His leg stretched into a water jet, which rapidly took the shape of a chain.

"Mizu Mizu no…"

This time though, that chain of his wrapped around the Lord of the Coast's throat, as Jin took a tight grip onto it. Then, with all of the strength left in his body, he spun it around within the small space he was in.

"… Chain, THROW!!!" and the Sea Monster was sent miles and miles away and into the open ocean, creating a huge splash in the horizon. Jin's leg then went to normal, followed by him collapsing on the sand, out of exhaustion.

"Damn, that took a lot out of me!" he said, as he looked up the blue sky. It was a bright sunny day, and all he wanted to do was relax. Although his moment of relaxation was later interrupted by Chris's voice. "HEY, STOP DAYDREAMING AND GET UP HERE!"

Jin then sighed, as he lazily lifted himself up and jumped onto the road. Jin then saw Chris placing the little girl on the floor, who was still shaking a bit. Chris then looked at Jin. "Nice job, pirate!" Chris said, as Jin nodded, grinning. "I know, I know, I'm too good!" was Jin's response, only contributing to Chris's annoyance. "So, how is she?" Jin asked. "She's well, she's…" Chris then looked at the little girl, but something wasn't right. The little girl had disappeared. "…. she WAS here! I just took my eyes away from her for one second, and now…"; "More like she vanished…" Jin said, as Chris just sighed. "Great, now that's just freaky right here! Though I should be used to do this, many things like these happen a lot on a town like this."

Jin nodded, as he started walking again. "Hey, where are you going?" Chris asked, as Jin looked back at Chris. "Weren't we going to check on that mob?" Chris then stopped for a moment, pondering on something. He just shrugged at his thought, and started following Jin. _"Even though it's not every day that little girls vanish out of nothing just like that! I have a bad feeling about this…"_ Chris thought; a few steps behind Jin. A pedestrian that passed by Chris was unfortunate to have his wallet stolen by him. Chris silently snickered, looking at the huge amount of money inside of the wallet.

Jin, however, noticed it from the corner of his eye. He just sighed, and even, without meaning to, he gave a quick laugh.

----------

Once they reached the docks, the scene before them was like no other, a massacre. The once active and fearless mob was seemingly exterminated, their unconscious bodies lying around the floor, some in a puddle of blood, and others with a few serious bruises and injuries. Chris then ran to an old lady, who lied on the floor, her eyes opening slowly.

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE, OBASAN?" Chris asked, kneed next to the old lady, who turned her head to Chris.

"T-T… T-That… p-p-pig… ah!" the old lady said, but going back to her unconscious state. Chris then grit his teeth, anger now rising.

"Hey Chris…"

"WHAT?" Chris asked, scaring Jin a bit. "Whoever did this… went that way!" Jin said, pointing to a road that led to the center of the town. Chris understood he was right, judging by the blood-soaked footprints. Chris then went to one of the footprints, and placed her finger on it, drawing it back, blood dripping down from it. "It's fresh! I believe this happened, maybe, five minutes ago at the most! Whoever it was, judging by the closeness of each footprint, wasn't in any hurry at all!" Chris said, and then walked up to some other victims. "Also, check out their wounds!" Jin then stepped next to one of the bodies. That body had multiple bruises, and each one was darker than the other. "Judging by the quantity and deepness of each wound… this was pure fun!"

"Pure WHAT?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow at Chris's remark.

"I said that whoever beat these people down had one hell of a playtime! Multiple wounds mean a lot of strikes, and normally, if someone is in a hurry, the wounds they leave on someone's body aren't as deep as this!" Chris said, as Jin looked at the bruises, some even carrying a dark, purple color.

"Disgusting!" Jin commented silently to himself. Jin turned around, and started following those bloody footprints. "C'MON CHRIS, FOLLOW ME!" Chris then stood on his feet, and followed Jin. "How ironic, his laziness is bipolar!" Chris commented to himself.

----------

They kept following those footprints, until Jin abruptly stopped, Chris ending up bumping into him and falling on the ground. "WHAT THE HELL, AT LEAST WARN ME WHEN YOU'RE GOING TO STOP!" Chris told him, in comical anger. Jin started walking slowly and silently, until he reached a turn. The road led to an obligatory turn to the left, the rest being all buildings. He stopped at the turn, and peaked.

Out of nowhere, a person passed by him, Jin almost not noticing due to the speed. That person then crashed onto a nearby building, one of those made of steel. Surprisingly, the person ended up going through that layer of steel, his body collapsing onto a pile of craters on the inside of that building. Chris, was a few steps behind Jin, looked at the scene in shock. Jin then took the turn to the left, and saw the cause of all of these problems.

A muscled, tanned man with a six-pack, wearing nothing but training shoes and white, baggy, silk pants had his fists raised, while pointing his other hand at Jin. Jin noticed his eyes had multiple scars all over and around them. He was also bald, though the little hair he had was tied in a ponytail, on the back of his head.

"C'mon kid, let's see what you got! My name's Harry, though people call me Dirty Harry!" The man named Dirty Harry said, as Jin ran up to him, extending his fists back.

"Mizu Miz… AAARGH!!" Jin abruptly stopped, another electric current flowing through his body, stopping him in his tracks. Harry smirked. "TOO SLOW, KID!! BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT LEFT!!" Harry fiercely punched Jin with his left fist, a huge amount of pain spreading through Jin's abdomen, shredding his bandages, revealing multiple, bleedings cuts and dark, purple bruises. Blood poured from the wounds, as he was now seconds away from colliding against the cold steel of the building. To his luck, Chris caught him just in time. Chris laid him on the ground, as Jin spat a bit of blood. "Just rest, ok? I'll take care of this!" Jin turned to Chris. "But..."; "Look, SHUT UP, SIT BACK AND WATCH, OK?"

Jin, scared to his wits, just nodded and sat back against the steel wall. Chris then turned to Harry, as he smirked.

"Hmm, it's not really you I'm aiming for, but what the hell… BUTA DAG…"

Chris then rapidly walked up to him, as Harry had no time to catch him. Chris then did a back flip, and while on midair, delivered a roundhouse kick to Harry's head, knocking him out cold. Harry, then slowly lifted himself up, grabbed Chris by the leg and threw him against a nearby building. Luckily, somehow defying gravity, Chris landed with his feet on the building's wall, then landing on the floor.

"Hmm, looks like I might have to… change…" Chris raised an eyebrow, and then saw something happening to Harry's body. His muscles were now getting fatter and fatter, his skin started gaining a shade of pink, and his ears got a bit pointier. Although the two most noticeable attributes were the medium-sized pig tail that grew on his lower back, and his nose resembled the one of a pig. Chris shuddered at the sight of the human/pig hybrid.

"I'M DIRTY HARRY, USER OF THE ZOAN DEVIL FRUIT, BUTA BUTA NO MI, MODEL: PIG!!" Harry said, acting as fierce as possible.

Chris instead, just grinned, as he drew something from his hat. "Bring it on, man-pig!"

!TO BE CONTINUED!

AND I'm finished. I'm trying to update as quickly as possible, so as to finish this one arc up! Btw, since the OCs will now start fighting, I'll be requesting an Attack list of the OCs submitted by you, fellow readers.

Btw, don't forget, for anyone who might not have been warned yet, I NEED AN APPEARANCE FORM FROM YOUR OC!

Till then, I bid you goodbye!!!


	3. Pride on the Dagger's Reflection II

"BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT RIGHT!!!" Harry then raised his right hand and curled his fist. He then attempted to punch Chris, although to no avail.

"You have the power, but you have no speed whatsoever!" Chris said, as she easily dodged the incoming fist, and punched him in his ribs, and then standing away from him at a large distance. Chris then successful took out from his hat what looked like a dagger. The handle was silver and the blade appeared to possess a very sharp diamond edge. The most interesting characteristic of that dagger was that the blade curved around her wrist, making it look like some sort of brass-knuckles.

Jin watched the dagger in interest, being the first time he saw such a peculiar weapon of choice. _"I've always seen people use falchions, katanas and guns, but daggers? Well, I guess there's a first time for everything! Let's see how he uses it!"_ Jin thought, as he lazily tried to lay back EVEN further, in a comical way.

Chris smiled, though his smile faded a bit as he saw Harry recovering from his punch to the ribs.

"Stupid kid, you should know that the Model Pig fruit is known to give its user an extremely huge edge when it comes to strength AND physical resistance!" he then added an even bigger grin to his speech. "Besides, it's not like a skinny little kid like you could do anything about it!"

Chris then grew a tick mark on his forehead.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SKINNY, YOU BASTARD? I JUST LIKE TO KEEP FIT, NOT LIKE THAT PINK TUB OF LARD THAT GREW OUT OF YOUR BELLY IN THE LAST MINUTE!!" Chris said, in somehow a hysterical, and even feminine voice, as her fists gripped tightly.

Harry's and even Jin's jaws dropped to the floor in comical shock.

"You got owned, Pigsy!" Jin said, laughing a bit to himself. "Though that comeback wasn't pronounced very manly, Chris! I always thought you were a strong, alpha-male!"

"AND YOU SHUT UP, WATER BOY, OR ELSE YOU'RE NEXT!!" Chris said, which was enough to shut Jin up, as he laid back in the steel wall, whistling innocently.

Harry however was a different case. He showed visible anger, and his eyes now shot flames.

"NOBODY CALLS ME FAT AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!! BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT TRANSPORT!!" Harry raised his left leg, and in the blink of an eye, brought it down to the ground, leaving a crater in that spot. From the crater, a fissure grew out and rapidly lunged in Chris's direction. Once Chris was aware of what was going to happen next, it was too late. The ground exploded from underneath him, sending Chris flying multiple feet away, though it still wasn't enough for Harry, who started running, trying to catch up to Chris before he hit the ground.

"_Shit, he's gonna hit me if I don't do something!"_ Chris thought, but his legs were still sore from that violent ground explosion. Harry was now right beneath Chris, preparing himself to punch him. Chris then smirked, an idea forming on his head. _"Let's see you having a taste of the Crescent Dagger!"_

"BUTA DAGEKI…"

Chris was close to the ground, though he raised the hand that gripped the crescent dagger, changed the shift of his body, so he was in a diving position, dagger pointing straight to Harry, and started spinning his body, taking a similar shape to a tornado, the crescent dagger on the lower edge spinning as fast as possible along with the body's equal motion.

"IMPACT RIGHT!!"

"CRESCENT CYCLONE!!!"

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**Pride on the Dagger's Reflection (II)**

**The Boy… GIRL who Thrived against Difference**

While Harry was inches from punching Chris, Chris was inches from hitting Harry's fist with his dagger.

"KABOOM!!!"

The impact was incredibly strong, sending a few shock waves throughout its surroundings, strong enough to shatter a few windows of the buildings near them, dust now starting to set in. Not only were shock waves unleashed, though: a few drops of blood were scattered all around, staining multiple buildings. One of the few drops of blood even hit Jin square in his mouth, which he forcefully spat, in complete disgust.

As the minor dust that had appeared cleared out, the battle could now be more visible, showing that both Chris and Harry were catching their breaths. Jin looked at them worriedly, hoping that the blood that resulted from the fighters' impact didn't belong to Chris. As he looked carefully, his worries vanished as he noticed that Harry's right hand carried a deep wound.

"One could've been fooled." Jin said to himself, as he took a look at Chris, who had his right hand (the dagger's hand), more precisely, his WHOLE ENTIRE right arm soaked in Harry's blood, not to mention the Crescent Dagger's blade, smoke even started coming from it.

"Damn it, the dagger's boiling hot, smoke's even coming out! Just how strong are you, man-pig?" Chris asked, but still feeling a bit safer knowing he eliminated one of the threats. Harry on the other hand, looked rather bored, which confused Chris.

"Is this all you got, kid? I mean, sure, it was the most awesome attack I've ever came across with, but… it still didn't catch my interest!"

"WHAT? What do you mean? Your hand is…"

"You mean this little booboo here? PLEASE KID, DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!" Harry said, laughing at Chris's assumptions. He then turned his body back to normal, as he pointed to the scars around his eyes. "See these scars here? Back on my island, people feared Devil Fruit users, and believed in an old tale…"

----------

"… _To know if someone is a Devil Fruit user, all you need to do is open wounds all around their eyes! If their eyes don't fall out instantaneously, then they aren't Devil Fruit users!"_

_On a wall, we can see the shadows of a mob of people, machetes in their hands, slicing the skin around the eyes of women, men and even children. Screams could be heard, along with the sound of steel ripping through flesh. Unlucky for some, certain people didn't have the same skill with machetes as others did, so some eventually gauged their victims' eyes out._

"_SHE'S A DEVIL FRUIT USER, KILL HER!"_

"_THIS CHILD BEARS THE DEVIL'S OFFERING! CLEANSE HIS SOUL IN THE BURNING FIRE OF MERCIFUL GOD!!"_

"_And don't think of this as a tradition! Think of it as a habit, think of it as a tendency… These ones I got were only… Eight years ago…"_

----------

"…Only one year…"

"… After the Devil's Massacre!" Chris finished for Harry, who raised an eyebrow while grinning. Meanwhile, he returned to his pig/human hybrid form.

"So you've heard of it, huh kid? Well, let me show you half of what it felt like… BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT…" Harry raised his right leg in the same way he did a few moments ago, when he hit Chris with the Impact Transport attack, though this time Chris was ready for it… or so he thought.

"_This time you're not gonna fool me, man-pig!" _Chris thought, as he jumped high in the air, coming up with a way to avoid the attack. Jin then watched in awe and shock as Chris ran to his demise. "CHRIS, YOU'RE WRONG! YOU'RE BLOCKING THE WRONG ATTACK!!"

"What?" for Chris it was too late, as he saw Harry, still with his leg raised, spinning and executing a side kick into Chris's direction.

"… SHOT!!!" a huge shock-wave was shot from Harry's leg, right in the direction of Chris, who was still in mid-air.

"Shit, it's practically impossible to dodge an attack while in mid-air!" Jin muttered, trying to find an opening for Chris, but it was too late.

The attack connected with Chris, and sent him flying against one of the buildings, leaving a dense mark on the steel wall. Chris's unconscious body then landed on the floor, while Jin just looked in shock at the scene before him.

"NO! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Jin yelled in utter anger, trying with all his might to stand up, ignoring the excruciating pain and fluent drops of blood from the various wounds on his abdomen.

Harry turned around and looked at Jin's fragile and bruised figure, with a sadistic, angry look plastered on his face. Harry then returned to his human form, and just sighed.

"Kid, I don't even need a quarter of my power to finish you off right now!" Harry said, as Jin started walking Harry's direction, his fists encased in water.

"I'll teach you not to mess with my FRIENDS!!!" Jin yelled, emphasizing the word "friends", and even though Chris was unconscious, she could still hear that word coming from Jin's mouth.

"_Friends… Friends? I always had to prove something! How can he, who doesn't even know me at all, consider me one of his…"_

----------

"… _Friends…?"_

_It wasn't that long ago. Or maybe it was, I can't really remember, but it was all the way back from my childhood years. I lived with my dad, mom and grandma. My father worked as a bartender, so I rarely was with him. I wish I had spent more time with him._

_I grew up with my mom and grandma. My grandma was always a pain, always trying to turn me into the "perfect lady", so I could "Become a successful woman one day, to be ladylike and know how to clean and cook properly!" The thing, I had NO interest in that, whatsoever._

"_Chrisanthia, not AGAIN! I can't quite understand what's on that mind of yours!" Chris's grandma said, annoyed._

_A young Chris, dressed in a pink dress, was now lying on the ground, books scattered around her._

"_How do you expect to learn how to walk like a lady if you keep dropping those books? A true lady has to find her balance!" Chris's grandma told her, though Chris just rolled her eyes and ignored her comments._

"_Don't be so harsh on her, mom! I think she said already that she doesn't want to become or acquire any of those things." came the voice of Chris's mom, who entered the living room, where Chris was now picking up the fallen books. Her grandma, however, for a moment didn't even listen to Chris's mom._

"_Don't be silly, every girl of her age wants to become a true woman! I've even spoken to the neighbors today, and guess what? Their daughter is taking COURSES, PROFESSIONAL ETIQUETE COURSES!" Chris's grandma told to her daughter, in a style of gossip that got a few snickers from Chris._

"_I wonder if I also need some professional GOSSIP courses!" Chris muttered, giving her a few laughs._

"_Mom, I don't really care, it's her life! She can do whatever she wants!"_

"_Nonsense! If she becomes a thief, then I guess you won't care either?" Chris's grandma said, while her mom just shook her head._

"_That's not what I meant…"_

"_SHE'S GONE! OOH, NOT AGAIN!" Chris's grandma said, noticing that only her pink dress was now placed upon the couch, but Chris was nowhere to be found._

----------

"_Phew, finally, mom came just in time!" Chris commented, glad for her mother to come and break grandma's vicious cycle of chores. "Who even gives a care about being "true ladies"?"_

_Chris had now changed to a pair of pants, a plain shirt and some shoes, and had hidden her hair underneath a cap she had brought. All around her, she saw girls of her age dressed in fancy dresses, and with these extravagant haircuts, with the scent of expensive perfumes all around their bodies._

_This wasn't Chris, though. Yes, she wasn't a pig, if that's what you assume. She just didn't like to dress like that; she didn't want to be that stuck-up. She wanted a full life, an adventurous life, and not a life behind the cooker, waiting for her husband to arrive home, expecting a meal on the table._

_Chris arrived at a forest, on a camp-sight with a few tents placed all around, where a group of boys were, some playing with wooden falchions, some other older kids playing with authentic falchions, and a few were practicing with pick pocketing games and sniping games with slingshots, impersonating the King of Snipers, Sogeking._

"_Hey Chris, you're just in time! We were about to go to Town, and get ourselves and pick-pocket some rich idiots! Wanna join us?" One of the boys, who wore a red cap, green shirt, jeans and shoes said. Chris, of course, was never the one to deny such an invitation._

"_Of course I do, Zack! Let's get going!" Chris said, enthusiastic as always._

_Those boys didn't know I was a girl. If they knew I was a girl, they would never let me play with them. This is the reason why I always dressed like this, with a cap and pants._

----------

_Later, as Chris bid farewell to the boys, the sun went down. She hurried to her house, and sneaking by the back door, she went to her room, changed clothes, hiding the ones she had on a box beneath her bed, and dressing herself in one of those formal dresses that her grandma made her wear. Right in the nick of time, her grandma burst in the door, a tick mark on her forehead, though she was mighty surprised to see Chris in her room, an eyebrow raised._

"_Where were you, Chrisanthia?" her grandma asked, though Chris just looked at her in a weird, though slightly mocking way._

"_Huh, in my room?" Chris stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world._

"_Why did you leave your dress in the couch, then?"_

"_I wanted to change into another! That other one was itchy!" Chris simply said, leaving her grandma to leave her room, defeated. "Ok, that one was TOO close! I need to be more careful!"_

----------

_A few years passed after that close call, and I always tried to be as careful as possible. I always tried to divide those chores of grandma, and the life I tried to have with my "crew of pirates". You could say I had a double-life. Until that one day, when I was twelve…_

_Chris, in disguise, is running along town with the boys, the ones who always played with her. Taking a turn to the right, she was then grabbed by the wrist. She turned around, and saw the least expected person: her grandma._

"_Well, well, well, what do we have here? CHRISANTHIA!!" Her grandma practically roared through the street, catching the attention of Chris's friends, AND the people around them._

"_What clothes are these, where'd you get them? AND I THOUGHT YOU WERE AT HOME, YOUNG LADY!" her grandma roared through the street, dragging her home. "Once we get home, we're going to have a long talk! I always suspected about this for years!"_

_Chris looked back and saw her friends just looking at the scene, some shocked, and others simply didn't say a word. Chris looked down in embarrassment and blind anger._

----------

"_WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"_

"_LOOK GRANDMA, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THIS STUFF OF BEING A TRUE LADY!" Chris yelled, though it wasn't enough._

"_And watch your mouth, young lady! All the time I put in to raise you and this is how you repay me? By dressing yourself in a bum's clothes, disguising yourself as a boy JUST to play with the other low-life kids?"_

"_YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, YOU NEVER UNDERSTOOD AND YOU NEVER WILL! I DON'T CARE ABOUT IT! I WANNA BE A PIRATE!" Chris then ran to the door and left the house. Her grandma just looked in shock at what just happened. Chris's mom, however, was a bit different. She was too shocked, although not as much as her mother. She, somehow, had seen it coming._

_Chris ran away, tears escaping her eyes._

"_Stupid grandmother, never cared about me, always cared about her own selfish wishes!"_

----------

_Chris stepped into the old, familiar camp-sight in the middle of the forest. The boys looked at her with disgust, the feeling of being fooled all of those years finally surfacing._

"_I've told you already, you're kicked out of the group!" one of the boys told her, but this only further fueled her anger._

"_Why, WHY? I'm perfectly capable of doing what you boys do, all of these years I have been able to do it! WHAT DOES IT CHANGE NOW?" Chris asked._

"_The fact you lied to us, for example!"_

"_If I hadn't, you wouldn't have let me join you!" Chris said. "Damn right we wouldn't!" some other boy said, though she sent him a deathly glare, instantly shutting him up._

"_Hmm, ok, we'll let you in the group again… But only if you prove you can do what we do! You'll have to…"_

----------

"… _Steal this certain pirate's weapon!"_

_Chris had finally found the pub she had been looking for the whole night. She finally found this group of old, fat pirates, fainted by one of the tables in the pub. There was this one, however, that carried a semi-circular sheath on his belt. Chris slowly walked towards them, not making a sound. She then ripped the sheath off of the pirate's and ran for her dear life. But unfortunately…_

"_And where do you think you're going, boy?" Chris then took a turn around a nearby table, and was almost reaching the pub's exit, when she felt a cold, piercing pain on her back. One of the pirates had stabbed her on her back; blood was now slowly dripping from the wound. Chris, in a mere shot of luck and adrenaline, ran for her dear life, exiting the pub in time._

_She then returned to the camp-sight, showing her trophy, the famous Crescent Dagger to the other boys. However, she fainted, shocking everyone who still hadn't noticed the bloody wound on her back._

----------

_I remember waking up in a bed, a hospital bed. The doctors told me I had to be hospitalized in here for quite a while. As times passed, I pondered in whether I should stay in that little, pretend crew or just put my life on the line and become a real pirate._

_The more weeks that passed, the clearer the answer got._

_The day I left the hospital, the first thing I did was returning to that old camp-sight where everything began. They greeted me, gave me back the Crescent Dagger that I stole from those pirates long ago, and welcomed me back into their group. I eventually became leader of their group. Hmm, how ironic, don't you think? From banned to leader._

_See, this is what I mean when I say, that I always had to prove something to someone to get my point across. And now, this pirate, he without even knowing me at all, just like that, considers me his…_

----------

"… _friend!"_

Jin was punched back into the wall, his wound now in a pretty serious state. Harry was now dusting his fists off, watching Jin clutching his wound, though he was still getting up.

"You'll pay for what you did… to Chris!" Jin said, though he slumped back on the ground, the pain unbearable.

"HEY PIG!" Harry turned around, and watched in awe, as Chris was now in mid-air, in that diving position, pointing the Crescent Dagger straight at Harry. Chris then landed on a building's wall, exerted enough pressure and jumped in Harry's direction, as fast as possible, the air gaining shape around her.

Harry could just watch, knowing he wasn't quick enough to dodge such a fast attack, and he surely didn't have an iron skin to block an incoming dagger lunge.

"Oh shit…" Harry commented, practically paralyzed.

"CRESCENT COMET!!!"

!TO BE CONTINUED!

AND IT'S DONE! BTW, when I meant appearance form, I meant how your OC looked like, but no problem. Thanks to this honest mistake, you people gave me new, numerous ideas. I thank you. Boy, Chris surely had a rough past.

Who hasn't sent me their character's looks, please do send, AND finally, I bid you farewell until the next chapter of "The Way of the Kaizoku", in the climatic ending of the battle between Chris and Harry.

Read and Review!!


	4. Pride on the Dagger's Reflection III

"SLASH!!"

Various gushes of blood flowed violently from Harry's new wound, thanks to the deepness of Chris's Crescent Comet attack. Clutching to his stomach, he slowly turned around to watch Chris guarding the Crescent Dagger in its sheath. The moment the dagger's hilt touched the sheath, Harry collapsed out of exhaustion, though still aware of his surroundings.

"You'll never take me alive, you pigs!" Harry said, struggling to get on his feet.

"Oh, just look at the irony of that comment…" Chris said, adjusting his cap.

"You'll never take me to Impel Down alive! You'll have to drag my corpse to…"

"WAIT, what the hell are you talking about? Impel Down? Take you alive? What the hell is wrong with you?" Jin asked, holding onto his wound, though managing to stand up.

"I-I thought you were marines! That's why I was fighting you! I thought you had come here to get me!" Harry said, though Chris raised an eyebrow.

"Wait a minute, even if that's true, why the hell did you send that other guy flying against that building?" Chris asked, pointing to the hole in the building Jin had been lying on. The hole was subsequently right next to him. Jin then took a look inside, and saw the unconscious body of a man in the middle of smashed crates… he was wearing Marine Soldier clothes.

"He's a Marine!" Jin said, turning to Harry. Harry nodded. "I was walking around here, when suddenly that wimp tried to take me down! Must be a newbie, with a single chop he was sent flying!"

"Well, no wonder! I don't really care for these Marines, but you deserved it for what you did to those civilians!" Jin said, though this time it was Harry's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Civilians? What civilians?"

"You know what he's talking about! We reached the docks, and guess what? A group of civilians had been completely slaughtered, and judging from what I saw, you did it for FUN!" Chris said, gritting her teeth. Harry just sighed, and took out a paper from his pants' right pocket. Harry handed it to Chris, and in the next seconds, shock was a bit plastered on his face.

"It's a Hotel Check!" Chris said, as THIS TIME Jin raised an eyebrow.

"Hotel Check? What's that supposed to be?" Jin questioned.

"There are new places in Fuschia called Hotels! It's a place where people can unpack and sleep if they don't have a place to stay! Mostly pirates and tourists use this! When someone goes to an Hotel, they receive this Hotel Check to prove that they've paid for their stay!" Chris replied, carefully reading the information that lied on the paper. "According to this, you checked-in in Hotel Fuschia about… three days ago!"

Jin just stared at blank, not quite following what Harry was trying to accomplish there.

"I don't see what you're trying to tell us! So what if you've been here for the last three days, you could've just attacked them if you'd want to! That's just stupid to even bring up…"

"He kind of makes a point…" Chris commented, a smile growing on his face. "Trust me, whoever's in that Hotel isn't a bad person!"

"What the... How can you be so sure? I mean, seriously…"

"Just trust me on this one, ok? Stop being so close-minded and listen to me: he's not a bad guy!" Chris said. Jin stared at Chris for a few moments, studying his face. There was something on Chris's eyes that caught his attention, something… out of character. He just sighed, but still wanted to clear one final doubt.

"What about the bloody footprints that took us here?"

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**Pride on the Dagger's Reflection (III)**

**Secrets and Revelations, The First Mate Maybe?**

"Well then, what about them?" Jin asked, suspense now filled the air, realization dawning on Chris, who turned to Harry, and saw his training shoes covered in blood.

"Blood? What're you talking about, kid?" Harry asked. "During this battle, I got covered in blood, and even stepped on it. Even the kid I fought with has blood all over him!" Harry did have a point; Chris had been soaked in Harry's blood, AND even in a bit of his own blood.

"Hmm, he's wearing training shoes…" Chris thought to himself, walking back to the place where they'd came from. Upon reaching one of the footprints marks, a sudden tick mark formed on his head. He then turned to Jin, and JABBED him across his jaw, sending him flying in comical anger. "YOU'RE AN IDIOT, WATER-BOY!"

Jin landed on the ground, and in comical frustration tried to defend himself. "HEY, WHAT DID I DO?"

"IF YOU HAD LOOKED CLOSELY, INSTEAD OF BLINDLY RUSHING INTO BATTLE, YOU'D KNOWN THAT WHAT YOU HAD BEEN FOLLOWING THIS WHOLE TIME WERE IN FACT BOOTPRINTS! THIS GUY IS WEARING TRAINING SHOES!" Chris told him, slumping down in defeat, knowing he just wasted huge amounts of energy for no apparent reason.

Jin looked utterly embarrassed, knowing he hadn't paid enough attention to the footprints he had been following to consider that they were BOOTprints.

"Huh, but it's weird, though! You remember the civilians exclaiming "That Pig!" when we found them, right?" Jin asked, to which Chris stepped back a bit.

"Well, huh, yeah, but… I mean, maybe it was just a coincidence, or…"

"It wasn't me, kid! I've been here for three days, and this is the first time I've transformed! In fact, you two are the only ones on this island that know about my Devil Fruit powers!" Harry said, while Chris and Jin just kept thinking about what was happening.

Chris then took a glance around, and noticed one of the buildings' walls. It had many posters placed there, but a purple one stood out from the rest of the others. It read: "FUSCHIA TOWN'S MASQUERADE!!", which gave an idea to Chris.

"Maybe, those people didn't quite see it at all… maybe someone was masked!" Chris said, throwing her idea in the air. Jin then started following her train of thought.

"Y-Yeah, if the attacker is as strong as you think he is, then… Wait, why the mask idea all of a sudden? Somebody wearing a pig mask? I don't' see why…"

"Because tomorrow night's Masquerade!!" Chris told Jin, pointing the nearby purple poster. Jin turned to his head to the side, noticing the wall covered in posters. One peculiar poster stood up to him, despite the Masquerade one's extravagant color.

That peculiar poster was a wanted poster. One of the other posters covered the photo, but the bounty was clearly visible. Jin's eyes became wider than ever, noticing the bounty's value. It was like no bounty he had ever seen before. It was clear; the value was none other than…

"… 600.000.000 Berry!" Jin commented to himself, a shocked look never leaving his normally lazy expression.

"He probably jumped to some place or something; this guy is definitely a high threat!" Chris told Harry, who had now been bandaged and was seemingly getting along with Chris. The two were a bit behind Jin, examining the bootprints made by blood. Jin then broke his line of thought, and turned to Chris.

"We should catch whoever did that!" Jin proposed, with his arms behind his head, in a casual tone.

"You idiot, how do you expect us to find someone with a pig mask, in the middle of many other masked people?" Chris asked, annoyed at Jin's sudden outburst.

"I don't know, I was never one for plans! Although I want to catch this guy before he causes more trouble!" Jin said, annoying Chris even more.

"One question, though. Do you have any idea why this guy may've slaughtered those people in the first place?" Chris asked, forcing Jin to ponder on the subject, rubbing his chin. He then looked back at Chris, seemingly carrying a response. "Didn't you say that the mob was after Devil Fruit users? Maybe the guy who did it got attacked first, but then took the chance and decided to have a little fun!"

Chris was a bit taken back, not being used to witness such a smart conclusion from this guy. "W-Well, maybe you're right. Ok then, let's assume you're right, and that was what happened! How are you sure we'll find him on the Masquerade, or how are we even going to find him?"

"Look, I don't know, alright? I already said I was never good with plans! I'm just good at kicking ass!" Jin said, half-cockily, half truthfully. Chris couldn't believe that this guy was so cocky. "It would be great if we could read people's thoughts, to know everything they're thinking!" Jin commented, walking alongside Chris and a silent Harry. Chris then got an idea from Jin's speech.

"_Maybe not reading thoughts… but intentions…"_ Chris thought, taking a sudden turn, while dragging Jin and Harry along. "We're going to the Hotel you are currently in, Harry! I have a friend to visit."

----------

Once they reached the Hotel, and stepped to the entrance, they were greeted by a blonde man, with a well-combed hair, green eyes and a face-shredding smile that defied human physics, making him look a bit… stupid. He was dressed in a white buttoned shirt, with a black tie a bit loose. He also wore black pants and black, polished shoes.

"Dagger, it's always a pleasure to see you!" the man shook Chris's hand, almost widening his already huge smile. "And I see you already met Mr. Hanford!"

"Likewise, Toushi! Well guys, this is Fuschia Hotel's manager, Toushiru Nagazawa! And Mr. who, by the way?"

"Huh yeah kid, that's my last name!" Harry said, receiving a fit of laughter from Jin, further annoying Harry. The man, now named Toushi, turned to Jin and carefully examined his eyes. His once gigantic smile had now decreased into a frown. Jin then stopped for a moment, noticing Toushi looking at him, and decided to keep up the Staring Contest.

"_Remarkable!" _Toushi thought, a small grin now re-appearing on his face. "And who might this be, Dagger?"

"You know Toushi, now that you mention it, he hasn't told me yet!" Chris said, turning to Jin, who had the face of someone guilty. He then grinned. "Huh, guilty as charged, I guess! Sorry, my name's Jin, Jinketsu Namura!"

"Well anyway, let's cut to the subject!" Harry said, now getting a bit anxious due to Chris's sudden plan.

"Yeah, well it's like this, Toushi, I was thinking…" Chris was cut short by Toushi, who threw him his, seemingly trademark, huge grin.

"Say no more Dagger; you know I wouldn't miss that for anything!" Toushi said, both Harry's and Jin's jaws hitting the floor in comical confusion. Chris snickered, noticing his two companions in complete and utter confusion. Though he had a feeling all questions would be answered, eventually.

"Well then, we have to wait until tomorrow! Let's start planning everything! Harry, do you mind if we stay at your room for tonight? This might take a while!" Chris said, while Harry slowly nodded, not getting the big picture that Chris was trying to uncover.

----------

A whole day had passed, plans had been made, and night had covered the skies of Fuschia. Fireworks blasted through the skies, ripping the darkness with the brightest and most colorful lights ever. People, who either wore costumes of fictional characters, or just wore masks, filled the streets of Fuschia in infinite happiness and mischief. The lights of the big city of Fuschia also filled the air, lighting up the packed restaurants and other convenience stores. Jin and Harry walked down those packed streets, looking around.

"Ok kid, we can't screw this up! You want to kick this guy's ass, and I want to clear my name!" Harry said, determination dripping from his eyes, which kind of freaked out Jin. Jin then grinned a bit, his arms behind his head as he lazily strode through the street, occasionally taking a glance at the windows of the stores.

Jin then remembered something. "Didn't Chris tell us to wear masks?" Jin asked Harry, whose eyes opened a bit, in sudden remembrance.

"You're right, kid! But I bet most stores have already sold out!" Harry said, but whole looking at his left, noticed a Costume Shop, still opened, with two masks noticeable by the window. One of the masks was of a grey wolf, and the other was of a pig. Harry grabbed Jin by the shoulder, as Jin looked to the place where Harry was pointing him to. "I take back what I said! We're in some luck!"

Jin then took a closer look at the gray wolf mask. It wasn't the animal in itself that caught Jin's interest, but it was mostly its color. That gray color reminded Jin of something, something he was sure that he forgot. Suddenly, a few familiar memories flood into his mind.

----------

_A younger Jin was seen sitting on a sidewalk, dressed in ripped, brown pants, dirty shoes and a light-brown jacket, and he also had that headband across his head. He also had a backpack hanging by his shoulder, with a zipper slightly opened, revealing its content: a huge amount of papers, and a black pen, a rubber, a pencil and a ruler. The backpack itself wasn't that big, so everything inside was a bit cramped. _

_Suddenly, a thunder ripped through the sky with immense brutality, seconds later followed by rain. Jin then shaped up a grin, chuckling to himself. "I thought it was never going to rain again!"_

_A man then walked right pass him. He had a gray beard that reached his chest, he had a bit of pot-belly, had white pants, a green, long jacket that reached his ankles, brown boots and sunglasses. The man then took a quick glance at the content of Jin's backpack and smiled._

"_You know kid, if you don't keep your content hidden, it may attract attention!" Jin turned to said man, and while zipping up his backpack, threw the same smile at the man._

"_I guess it already did, didn't it?" Jin and that man then shared a hearty laugh, but it was quickly cleared out by an incoming lightning that was heading to Jin's direction. The man noticed it, and in one swift motion, clearly breaking every single law of nature, KICKED the lightning, re-directing it toward a nearby tree, setting it on fire. Momentary fire, though, that was quickly put out by the consistent rain._

_Jin's mouth was wide open, shocked at the scene before him. Due to his powers, that lightning could've been his death, and Jin could only guess that the man didn't even knew how much he saved had saved him._

"_Y-Y-You saved me… that was astounding, amazing, I've never seen anyone do something like that! What can I do to repay you?" Jin asked, standing up and facing the man. The man chuckled._

"_You're too young to accept my offer, kid! I WAS going to ask you to join my crew, but I seriously don't know what position you could fill!" Though the man's uncertainty quickly vanished, only to be replaced by utter shock as Jin's arm was encased in water, forming a gigantic arm, probably due to absorbing the rain. The man then smiled, an approving smile, in fact._

"_I'm also a navigator! If you want, take a look…" Jin was about to unzip his backpack, when the man stopped him._

"_I don't care! I need a navigator, and if you're one, then you're officially on my crew!" To Jin, that man was a God. Everybody else in that town had denied him as their crew's navigator, either because he was too young, or because having a Devil Fruit user on board could be dangerous. After all, the Devil's Massacre had only happened one year ago._

_Jin then followed the man, who told him he was heading for his ship. Jin then remembered something._

"_You didn't tell me your name! I'm Jinketsu Namura, captain!" The man smiled at the mention of the "Captain" word being spat out of Jin's mouth so quickly. He then took a brief pause on his thoughts, remembering the kid's last name._

"_Namura, huh?" The man though, chuckling a bit to himself. _

"_Well kid, my name's Gray…" The memory only went as far, being slowly replaced by a blinding, and at the same time, deafening darkness._

----------

Jin then took notice of his surroundings once more, as he saw Harry stepping out of the shop, with those two masks on his hand. He had already placed the pig mask on his face, and was now handing him the gray wolf one.

Jin quickly placed the mask on his face, the only way of being able to recognize him, was by his clothes, much like Harry. The two then nodded, and hurried up, running up to the place they were supposed to meet at, sometimes bumping into people.

----------

"FINALLY, we thought you weren't going to show up!" Chris said, with Toushi by his side. The two sweatdropped, but quickly recomposed, while Chris re-told the plan, making sure everybody knew their part. "It's like this: you two take these communicators with you…" Chris said, handing both Jin and Harry two Walkie-Talkie-like devices. "… and start roaming around that huge amount of people down there."

In fact, the huge amount of people down there was about more than half of the population of Fuschia, all in some sort of Fair. The outer surroundings of the fair were a forest and other places, like cliffs and parts of the city.

"We'll be constantly in touch! Toushi will be looking around people from up here, and once he finds out the guy we're after, he'll warn you! I'll then jump to the occasion, to corner him, so he has no way out from us!" Chris said, while everyone nodded. "But we have to be careful! If this guy's truly a Devil Fruit user, we'll have be on the look-out, and…"

"Wait a minute there, kid! How can this guy find out who the guy we're after is?" Harry asked.

"Well, he…"

"Allow me to explain, Dagger! You see, I, like both you and Jin, am a Devil Fruit user, too!" Toushi said, while Harry's doubt was starting to get cleared. "I ate the Naii Naii no Mi, or as you may call it, the Intention Intention Fruit! It allows me to identify everybody's intention and personal opinion on things if I so do wish to know! All I have to do is look at the person!"

"So THAT'S why Chris defended Harry back when we were accusing him of beating up those people at the dock!" Jin exclaimed, while Toushi nodded.

"Yep, Toushi here only allows good-hearted people to attend his Hotel facilities… or people that are convenient for him…" Chris said, eyeing Toushi who eyed him back.

"Whatever Dagger, we have no time!" Chris, Jin and Harry nodded, as Jin and Harry jumped into the crowd, turning on their communicators.

----------

"Nothing yet…" Chris said through the communicator to Jin and Harry, eyeing them up above from his cliff. Toushi kept on looking around. Through his eyes, what he saw weren't exactly people. It was more like paper sheets and each and every sheet had written on it their intentions, their personal opinions, dreams, EVERYTHING.

Suddenly, a curious sheet caught Toushi's glance. The letters on it had that dark, twisted, Horror movie font to it, and it had clear intentions. The intentions were as followed: _After having a little fun at the docks with that mob of people and setting up those kids, meet up with the Chief._

Jin and Harry were having a hard time finding people with pig masks on. Besides Harry, it was hard finding people with such masks.

"Oh my God! Chris, tell them that the person they're looking for is…"

"RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!" Chris finished for Toushi, through the communicator, as Jin and Harry looked straight ahead. Whereas, there was a man wearing a light-red, sleeveless hoodie, a white, long sleeved shirt underneath, jeans and dark-brown boots. He had a pig mask on, the same style as Harry's mask. The man eyed them and once he saw who they were, he turned around and ran away from them. Jin and Harry quickly followed him, trying as hard as they could to keep up with him, though their task wasn't getting any easier with the mobs and mobs of people getting in their way.

"I'll get him!" Chris said, leaving Toushi behind.

"Shit, this guy's fast!" Harry commented, noticing the guy they were after was gaining a quicker pace by the second. "How the hell can he do that?"

----------

A few seconds later, luckily, they caught him in a secluded zone, where nobody else was. Right in front were a few stairs that led to the forest. The guy chuckled, being followed by Harry and Jin, who were now a few feet behind him. Harry lost his patience, though, now transforming to his human/pig hybrid. The man was almost reaching the stairs, when Chris came down and cornered him. The man stopped in his, and a small, unnoticeable grin took shape underneath his pig mask.

"Ok, this is enough! BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT TRANSPORT!" Harry raised his left leg in the air, kicked the ground, opening a crater near where he stood. The familiar fissure grew from the crater and quickly followed in the guy's direction, who stood completely still.

"Ok then, if you insist… MIZU MIZU NO TORPEDO!" after jumping high in the air, Jin was covered in a transparent, liquid aura that got a dark blue shade by reflecting the night's sky. He then shot himself like a bullet toward the guy, both Impact Transport and himself lunging into their opponent.

Suddenly, everything became too slow, and at the same time, too sudden. The guy, who once stood still, did a movement with both his hands underneath his shirt and jacket, and disappeared. The Impact Transport exploded in the place where the man once stood, and the strangest thing happened to Jin. His aura vanished, and he now stood in the air, mere inches from the ground, near the spot where the guy once stood, which had now been reduced to crumble and dust.

Then it happened. Blood gushed out from a newly formed cut in his chest, as Jin fell unconscious. Harry on the other hand, received a painful, but quick blow to the back of his head, also making him lose conscience. Chris felt like something passed by him, but stood completely still, not knowing what was happening.

All this happened in one second. The next second, Chris was still standing still, frozen from shock. It seemed like minutes before Toushi arrived, trying to help everyone up.

"_W-W-What just h-h-happened?"_ Chris wondered, still extremely shocked.

----------

"Well, thanks for the help, Toushi!" Everybody was now at the docks, all aboard Harry's ship. Everybody had been patched up, though it wasn't enough. Chris said goodbye to Toushi, who then whispered something in his ear.

"See that kid over there, that Jin boy? Back when we were at the Hotel, I tried to read his intentions…. And I couldn't!" Chris's eyes then opened in minor shock, though he had always known that there was something weird about Jin. "I believe he may've lost his memories, though normally not even that can erase a person's intentions from the sheet of paper that's their soul! Whoever this guy was before you found him… I'd advise you to be on the lookout!"

Toushi then waved one last goodbye to them, who were now sailing on the open seas, close to the sun rise. Once the ship sailed out of the view, Toushi chuckled to himself.

"_A shame I couldn't say much about Jin… It was truth his sheet was empty… though one thing remained scribbled… maybe a subconscious intention, I don't know, maybe even he isn't aware of that intention, yet… to find his Captain… the Most Dangerous Man in the World…"_

"… _Gray Beard!"_

----------

"Man that was fun!" The man in the pig mask commented, close to Fuschia's Lighthouse.

"I strictly told you not to appear at that stupid Festival…" the familiar figure of that small, brunette girl, dressed in the dark-green dress back at the beach told the man.

"Meh, you were never good at giving orders, and I was never good at following them! It's the cycle!" the man said, laughing to himself.

A small smile then crept upon the little girl's face.

"The kid… I tested him with the Sea King, and he nearly got me killed… the Water kid… isn't aware of how powerful that rare fruit of his really is! One of the most powerful fruits in the world in the hands of a lazy, ignorant navigator…"

"Though he was Gray Beard's navigator!" the man added up.

"Gray Beard… the only man in this world currently able to stop me… The Most Dangerous Man in the World… everything in him reeks of danger to both the marines… and us!" the girl commented, as she disappeared in a cloud of darkness that was, seconds later, obliterated by the Sun's rays of light. The man then chuckled.

"I hate it when you do that…"

!TO BE CONTINUED!

HOLY GOD, THAT TOOK ME SOO LONG TO WRITE! BUT IT'S DONE… the chapter, that is!

Anyway, I hope this was a good one, and sorry it was long, but it was this arc's closer. Anyways, I hope it was of interest, because I'll be updating soon, so…

Read and Review!!


	5. I' Dentity Crisis I

"We're all doomed!"

And out came the unhappy, distorted grunt from Harry, by the deck of the small ship that carried not only him, but also Jin and Chris. Jin, on the other hand, was lying on a bent chair he'd found on the ship's small kitchen, taking what he called a "well-deserved sunbath".

Chris just stood by the ship's fore, contemplating the sea that they were now sailing on, and cutting through that immense clear, blue paper sheet… All of this would've been peaceful, hadn't she be sailing with two idiots, who were constantly at each others' throats.

"YOU BAKA! IF YOU HAD AT LEAST HALF A BRAIN, YOU WOULD'VE RE-STOCKED ON SUPPLIES THOSE THREE DAYS YOU SPENT ON FUSCHIA!"

"WELL, IF YOU HADN'T SPENT ALL THE TIME BICKERING ABOUT SOME MAN IN A PIG MASK, I WOULD'VE HAD TIME FOR THOSE THINGS!"

"OH, NOW IT'S MY FAULT, HUH?"

Chris turned her head around, annoyed to the very brink of her core, as she watched Harry in his pig/human hybrid in some sort of boxing fight, which had more comedy to it, against Jin who answered with water-encased fists, leaving Harry more and more soaked by the second. Chris had now several tick marks on her head, noticing their little argument wasn't nearing any end.

This could be easily ignored, but those guys were just too loud. She then stepped forth to them, catching their attention. Jin and Harry then turned around and were met with two fists straight to their jaws, sending them against the ship's door to the kitchen. Both of them were now in a serious, yet comical state. Chris couldn't help letting out a joyous laughter, now feeling the true wind of friendship flowing by her heart.

"_So this is what it's like being a pirate, huh? God, I should've started a long time ago!" _Chris thought to herself, smiling as her two crewmates laughed along with her. A loud growl was then followed, coming from Jin's and Harry's stomachs, in comical hunger. Angrily, they restarted their fight again, as Chris just rolled her eyes, a smile still plastered on her face. Suddenly, a loud splash was heard, the sound coming from near their ship. Chris turned around and noticed large-sized vessel approaching their small ship, the cannons at the fore pointing straight at them.

"DIRTY HARRY, WE KNOW YOU'RE THERE! SURRENDER YOURSELF, OR ELSE WE'LL BE FORCED TO TAKE ACTION!" A marine captain shouted from the vessel. The only one paying the slightest attention to the captain's speech was Chris, and even she had now turned the other way, facing the ocean and feeling the breeze, while Jin and Harry kept on arguing and fighting. The captain's face then drew a very shocked expression, as his jaw hit the floor, HARD, comically leaving a hole in its place.

"WHAT THE HELL, ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME??" Jin and Harry, however, turned their faces to the Marine Captain, whose angry expression had now been replaced with one full of fright, looking straight at Jin's and Harry's faces, with horrid, killing intent.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" they both shouted, as they got up, and in comical anger, readied their attacks.

As Harry sent that side kick in the direction of the ship, unleashing a shock-wave, Jin threw those two fist-shaped, watery projectiles, one shortly after the other. Both attacks then, out of the blue, fused together, getting a colorful blue aura around them, the water-projectiles on both sides of the shock-wave.

"MIZU MIZU NO BUTA IMPACT PISTOL!!!"

As the attack neared its target, the marines screamed in fear, while their captain remained frozen in utter shock.

"This was the only time I forgot to fill in life insurance…" the captain commented.

A loud and gigantic explosion could be heard from a near distance, though to Chris, it was nothing compared to the sound of the waves crashing peacefully against the ship. Chris then commented happily:

"It's definitely a relaxing day to be a pirate!"

----------

The regular office stood proud, placed in a floating tower, in the middle of an ocean of a red sea. The clouds stood as dark as possible, creating a very negative mood all around. Though neither thunders, nor rain were apparent. Just the darkness generated by the darkest of clouds that gave a color to the surroundings was visible.

"Vice-Admiral Gouraikyu!" a voice came from a marine who busted into the office, violently opening the door.

Behind a desk in the far-side of the room was a man, dressed in the Marine Admiral outfit, whose face was hidden in the shadows. The only characteristic that stood out from him was the red pupils that shone from the shadow that hid his face.

"What… is it?" the last part of his speech was spoken in a lower tone, though the hateful venom that it possessed could be perfectly audible, freezing the marine soldier in solid fright.

"E-Excuse me, s-s-sir, but, i-it seems that "Dirty" Harry Hanford was seen with Graybeard's navigator AND Chrisanthia Hopkins, all in Fuschia Town. They assaulted a Marine officer, knocking him through one of the steel buildings' wall!" Once the Vice-Admiral slowly started rising, the Marine screamed in fear and ran out of the office.

"Hanford… the single mention of your name is enough to BOIL MY BLOOD INTO THE PITS OF HELL!" The office around then exploded in a sudden, and violent boom. It consumed practically everything around it, as the marine that ran out of the room fortunately escaped in time.

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**I. Dentity Crisis (I)**

**Arrival at Lilina Island**

"Ah, God bless the supplies we got from that wrecked Marine ship!" Jin lazily commented, taking a sip of orange juice from a mug they'd found on the supply boxes of the ship they destroyed while lying on his beach chair.

"You know kid, it won't be long until you get a bounty, so I'd advise you to stay on the low!" Harry told him, on the ship's fore, casually taking a look at the ocean's horizon.

"It's a pirate's life, Harry! Isn't getting a bounty a good thing for a pirate's… huh, "curriculum"?" Jin asked, knowing the answer too damn well, as he remembered that bounty poster with the value of 600.000.000 belli that he saw back at Fuschia Town.

"Yeah kid, I guess it is…" Harry chuckled at Jin's remark. "… I guess it is!"

Jin then lazily lifted himself up to check on their status on the trip, and quickly glancing ahead, he noticed land a bit far away.

"Land ahead, mateys!" Jin said, in that old-fashioned, comical pirate accent, which caught Chris's attention, who came back from the ship's kitchen and Harry, who looked at the horizon to confirm that Jin was right.

"How long until we reach it?" Chris asked.

"Judging by the wind's current strength, and assuming it stays as steady, AND by the sea currents right off now, I'd say…" after a brief pause, Jin stated bluntly. "… about an hour."

----------

Eventually, an hour later they arrived at the docks, setting up the boat and getting their feet on firm ground, inhaling the breeze of the town.

"Hmm, I think this is Lilina Island! I've been here a couple of times before, and the people are very nice… Although…" Harry informed them, though he placed a silent emphasis in the end of his sentence.

"Although what?" Jin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The Marines around here are also very strict about Devil Fruit users! I'd advise you to stay on the low!" Harry said, while Jin just nodded.

"We'll need someone to guard the ship while the others go buy provisions!" Chris said, as she pointed at Jin. "I'll advise you to stay here and guard the ship! Your injuries aren't still completely healed, and plus, from what I know of you, you're a walking trouble-magnet!"

"Tch, fine!" Jin showed a disapproving expression, though he was actually glad she had that idea, courtesy of his lazy personality.

"I'll go buy us the provisions!" Chris said, while she took a glance at Harry. "Do you want to come, too?"

"Nah, I got some business to attend here! Which I need to attend right now! I'll see you two later!" Harry said, as he walked off into the town.

"Yeah, see you later, Jin! And DON'T get into trouble!" Chris told him, as she walked off into town, also, leaving Jin behind in the ship, all to himself.

"Yes, mommy!" Jin muttered, as he turned to his beach chair, ready to doze off.

Suddenly, several screams took him out of his relaxation, as he lifted himself up and watched a group of five marines dragging a cuffed, skinny man to a small, steel platform that stood close to the sea.

The five Marines then proceeded on restraining his wrists and neck with a medium-sized lock. The four remained behind in position, while the other pointed a gun at the man's forehead, who was crying his eyes out. The marine pointing the gun then seemed like he was ready to speak.

"Sinnin Ghaulerson, you are charged by the following felony: Possession of a Devil Fruit Ability and you are here by sentenced to death!" the marine told him, cocking his gun. "Any last words in these last seconds of yours?"

"P-PLEASE, FORGIVE ME! I HAVE A WIFE AND KIDS TO FEED *sniff*, I CAN'T LEAVE THEM ALONE!" the man was practically crying his heart out, and the coldness in the marines' eyes was now infuriating Jin to his very core. "MY POWER ISN'T EVEN A DANGEROUS ONE, PLEASE! I ATE THE HOSHUU HOSHUU NO MI, THE ABILITY TO REPAIR ANYTHING *sniff* AND EVERYTHING, PLEASE! I USE IT TO WORK, SO I CAN SUPPORT MY FAMILY!! PLEASE, I…"

And then the gunshot was fired, as it passed through the man's head, the blood pouring from both his forehead and the back of his head. The marines then proceeded to carry the corpse, and were now readying themselves to throw it into the sea.

"Since we don't know what kind of effect his fruit has, we'll be forced to throw him into the sea!" the marine commented, as the others nodded.

"YOU BASTARDS! YOU DIDN'T EVEN CARE ABOUT WHAT POWERS HE HAD!" Jin yelled at the top of his lungs, running in their direction, his fists encased in water. "MIZU MIZU NO PISTOL!"

The two watery projectiles were shot from his fists, ramming right into two of the marines. The marines then took distance from the enraged Jin, who now stood next to the platform.

"Innocent blood was spilled here, and you call yourselves ENFORCERS OF THE LAW?!?" Jin asked in pure hatred.

"He's a Devil Fruit user!" one of the marines commented, which caught Jin's attentions.

"Damn right! I ate the Mizu Mizu no Mi, so I'm a Waterman! Prepare yourselves!" the water around his chest then started taking a shape, and soon enough took the shape of a small cannon, encased by water.

"MIZU MIZU NO CANNON!!!" Multiple cannonball-shaped watery projectiles were thrown against the marines, striking them with an enraged strength, knocking the SAME two away.

"WHY IS IT ALWAYS US?!" the two marines down on the ground asked in comical anger.

The other three marines then readied their rifles, pointing them at Jin, who smirked.

"Bring it on, you idiots! I'm a Logia user, so those bullets will just pass through me!" Jin then readied himself in his Jujitsu combat stance, but suddenly…

"ARGH!" the familiar electric current surged through his body, rendering him a violent migraine, and the control of his balance. "Crap, not at this time…" he said, in a very exhausted tone of voice.

"C'MON, IT'S OUR CHANCE! SHOOT, SHOOT, SHOOT!" One of the marines said.

"But he's a Logia, it won't do anything and…"

"DO YOU HAVE ANY BETTER IDEA?" after this last question, the marines pointed at Jin, and quickly took a shot at him, all three shots passing through his body, as blood poured from the places where the bullets had hit him.

Jin then slowly lost his balance, and fell into the sea, followed by a splash. The marines then looked at the place where he once stood, and then at the spot in the sea where he had fallen into.

"Well, that took care of him! Two Devil Fruit users in one day! We're closer to a promotion than we've ever been!" As they cheered on, leaving the scene, all seemed empty, and only a few drops of Jin's blood could be seen. Though, in the blink of an eye, the scene could be changed.

Jin was still there, and it looked like he hadn't been shot at all. He just stood there, now fully recovered from the electric shock, looking at the happy group of marines, now far away from him.

"Wow, that was odd! What the hell happened here? Something's not right!" Jin looked around, in the nearby buildings and alleys, until he saw on the top of one of the buildings a silhouette looking straight at him. "HEY, YOU OVER THERE!"

The silhouette looked like it had heard Jin, and had now fled from the scene.

"WAIT, COME BACK HERE!" Jin then tried to catch up to this mysterious figure, crossing one of the alleys that gave him access to the town.

He was now on a chase across the many streets of Lilina Town, bumping into a few people. He was so caught up into the chase, that the only thing he was able to notice was that whoever he was chasing had short, wavy brown hair with orange tips, which made him assume that it was a girl.

"Damn it, she runs as fast as… OH SHIT!" The person he was chasing had now gotten in the middle of a huge crowd, and he knew he wasn't gonna be able to see her again. "Great, just great… Now what will I…"

"WHAT THE HELL?!?" Jin then felt someone punch him on the back of his head, as an enormous bump was now comically rising in the middle of his spiky hair. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GUARDING THE SHIP!!!"

Jin turned slowly around to be greeted by a VERY annoyed Chris, who was carrying multiple bags of food and drinks for their next voyage.

"Do you know that while the ship is left alone, other pirates can go and steal it, or plunder from it?" Chris asked him, as Jin just lazily crossed his arms behind his head. Chris just sighed. "You know, for a lazy person like you, you can sure show some hyper activeness!"

"Well, I guess so! Anyways, let's place that on the ship, and then we'll get something to eat!" Chris nodded, as they both walked back to their ship.

----------

Harry was walking down one of the streets of Lilina Island, when suddenly he bumped into someone. Although Harry wasn't shook, and neither fell down, that person had fallen to the floor, but quickly recomposed herself and kept running, giving out a small, random giggle. The giggle seemed feminine, so Harry assumed it was a girl. He looked back, only being able to distinguish the girl's short and way brown hair, with a few orange tips from afar.

"Hmm… I know I've seen someone like that before… but where?" Harry then just shrugged, while mumbling something about "these crazy kids of today".

!TO BE CONTINUED!

AND I managed to update it! Sorry about the LONG delay, though I've been busy with school, and other projects. Though it's Summer vacation, so I can finally rest, and work on the story.

Blucalling, I decided to add your character now, cause… cause… well, I NEED CREWMEMBERS! XD, plus I liked the character.

To my other fellow readers, I'd be glad if you could shower me with OCs, so I can work on the story more comfortably. Until then, READ AND REVIEW!!!


	6. I' Dentity Crisis II

"AGH, YOU COULDN'T HAVE BOUGHT MORE FOOD!!" Jin exclaimed, as he placed the many bags of groceries in their ship's kitchen, sighing in relief.

"Don't be such a wise-crack, Jin! The way you and Harry eat, I even doubt this food will last for a meal!" Chris commented.

"Hey, no need to exaggerate, Chris! C'mon, let's get going!"

As they were now leaving the ship, they failed to notice a group of people standing by the steel platform, pulling a body from the water. The man that was executed earlier by the marines was dead, and a woman with blonde, wavy hair, dressed in traditional clothes was crying by it.

"WHO COULD'VE DONE SUCH A THING? HE WAS AN HONEST MAN!" the woman commented, sadness invading her soul like an infection, as the others remained silent, sorrow filling their hearts.

"The marines did, and with complete rights to do it!" a voice was heard, and then out came a man. He had a long, blonde hair, with blue eyes. He was white-skinned, and was dressed in a black and purple training suit, with white sneakers. On his back, he was carrying a stick, in which both ends had attached two round blades that could seemingly spin at the slightest of movement.

"H-How can you say that? My husband never once did anything wrong!" tears were now flowing like a river, but that man just grinned.

"He ate a Devil Fruit!" before the woman could say anything else, he restarted his speech. "No matter WHAT Devil Fruit you eat, you will always be considered a supporter of those who spilled innocent blood using powers that were not meant to be used by mere mortals!"

"Who are you? Get out of here, you punk! Lay off the poor woman, you bastard! He was never a criminal" those were the many comments of the people that had gathered around. The man just chuckled, as he took out his weapon, and pointed it at the mob.

"Shikakakakaka!" the blonde man laughed, as he noticed the mob flinching and backing away at the sight of the double-bladed stick. "I thought so! It's funny how you all discriminate the people you don't know who have these Devil Fruits, but then defend the ones you know!"

The mob stayed silent, though the woman's cries could still be heard. They stayed quiet, one because of the danger that this man represented, and two, because they knew that what he said was right.

He turned around, placing his weapon back on his back, while slowly walking into town. He stopped abruptly, and turned his head to the mob, grinning like a mad man.

"Whenever you fix that little defect of yours, you can lecture me on… well, what's that thing you call?" the man mockingly made a thinking expression. "OH YEAH, that's right! Justice!!"

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**I. Dentity Crisis (II)**

**The Hyperactive Illusionist and the Caring Cook**

"Wait a minute, you got into a riot with the marines?" Chris asked, as they were now walking through one of districts of Lilina Island.

The crowds gathered around the many stores, observing in glee the numerous items out for sale, such as weapons, clothes, and even food that the Butchers had for sale. A few kids played Catch, sometimes bumping into people.

"Yep, that's right!" Jin answered, looking around the many stores.

"Because you saw a man getting executed right in front of you?!" Chris asked once again, while this time, Jin just lazily nodded, not even looking at her. "Wouldn't it have been more logical helping him BEFORE he got executed?"

"Look, I didn't know what was going to happen! I just thought it was one of those humiliating punishments that they give to the low-life criminals!" Jin then continued, never looking at Chris. "I only reacted when I heard he was Devil Fruit user, but then it was too late!"

"Well, what power did he have, anyway?"

"The ability to fix everything, from what he said, and believe me, you don't lie on your last seconds of life!" Jin said, this time looking at Chris. "And that's when I attacked those marines! They tried shooting me, but the bullets passed through me!"

"And what happened next?" Chris asked, a sudden purge of curiosity taking over her.

"That's it: they left! They started celebrating, acting like they had gotten rid of me! That's when I saw this girl up in a building looking straight at me, so I assumed she was the cause of the strange mood swings of the marines!"

"What did this girl look like?" Chris asked. "In the rush of the chase, I could only catch a glimpse at her hair, which was brown, and with orange tips!" Jin answered, as they took a turn into a less crowded district. The same kids that had been once playing Catch had now bumped into three guys. One was a bald, skinny, tanned man with a sleeveless, gray jacket and light-yellow, silk pants with boots. The other was a very tall, dark-skinned man, about 6'7 ft. tall, dressed in a white shirt, brown pants and sandals, with a bandana on his head, while using his teeth to get a hold of a knife. The last one was a fat, bearded man with a sleeveless shirt and pant straps keeping his black pants in place, and brown boots.

The latter picked up one of the kids by his leg, and started swinging him like he was a toy.

"Well, well, well, haven't your parents ever taught you manners? You apologize when you hit someone!" the three started laughing, while the kid struggled to get out of the pirate's grip.

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, I'M SORRY!" the little kid said, tears escaping his eyes.

"You're not saying it like you mean it!" they started laughing even harder.

"YOU MEANIES! STOP IT!" the other kids were now attempting to help their friend, though the taller pirate kicked them out of the way.

One of the kids, most precisely, a brunette little girl ran away, in search for someone that could help them. Someone then placed an arm in front of her, stopping her in her tracks

"They're your friends, right?" the figure asked her. Once she raised her head, she saw Jin looking straight at her. She then nodded slowly, tears still escaping her eyes. Jin then chuckled, and readied himself, reeling back his fists, one a bit more than the other.

"This is gonna be easy! MIZU MIZU N… HEY, WHAT GIVES?" Jin then watched as Chris quickly dashed for the three pirates, the Crescent Dagger now in her hands. With a speed reminiscent to the one of a cheetah, Chris quickly sliced the fat pirate on his arm, forcing him to drop the kid. Before the kid dropped to the ground, she picked him up, and threw him to Jin, all while the kid comically cried in pure fright.

"C'mon you idiots! Let's dance!" once again, she dashed to the bald outlaw, kicking him across his jaw, as he stumbled back and hit a nearby wall. Picking himself up, he attempted to throw a hook at Chris, but only to miss her, as she ducked and gave him a leg sweep. Before he hit the ground, Chris jumped in the air and kicked him in his gut, pummeling him with an even more brutal force into the ground, knocking him out cold.

"Hey BASTARD, you must really hate your life! Don't worry, I'll make sure to get you RID OF IT!!" the pot-bellied pirate then also took out a knife, and tried taking a stab at Chris, though she easily side-stepped him.

"You're too slow… BASTARD!" she then kicked him in his gut, as he dropped his knife. She then elbowed him in his jaw, sending him back as he dropped near his fallen buddy, now knocked out as well. Chris then turned to the tall man, who had remained still all the time. He then grabbed the knife he had in between his teeth.

Chris then grabbed the knife that the latter pirate she had beaten had dropped, and swiftly threw it at the taller pirate, in hopes of using it as a distraction, although the knife never touched him, as he slashed it away with his own knife.

"Hmm, he's not like the others!" Chris thought, as she didn't even have the time to move.

----------

The blonde man from before was now sitting on the top of a building, watching from above the fight between Chris and the semi-giant criminal. The man smirked as he watched the fight.

"The kid is something, as I see! Who would've thought that a simple kid from Fuschia Town would raise so much trouble!" he thought to himself.

He then turned his head a bit to the left to find Jin sitting on the floor, watching the fight. He then raised an eyebrow, in a flush of both confusion and amusement.

"This is weird... WHy would that kid, who was clearly preparing himself for a fight, be dragged out by his other comrade? Hmm, maybe I'm growing paranoid, but I find this suspicious..." he thought to himself once more, until a grin spread across his face. "Or is he just trying to avoid people to know about his Devil Fruit ability? Hmm, either way, he perhaps will have to expose it, later on!"

----------

Chris then avoided a direct stab, jumped and using the tall pirate's shoulders for balance, she jumped higher in the air, and pointing her Crescent Dagger at him, she dove in his direction.

"CRESCENT COMET!"

Too quick for the pirate to avoid, he got deeply slashed across his chest, alas Chris landed on the ground, safe and sound, with her Dagger reeled back. Once the dagger's hilt touched her hat's sheath, the pirate collapsed out of exhaustion next to his comrades. The kids rushed over to Chris, cheering for her, as she just smiled, ruffling the hair of the boy that had been attacked earlier. Jin then walked over to her.

"Hmm, these were supposed to be _my people_, you know…" Jin said, while Chris snickered.

"Since when are these people _yours_?" Chris asked, as she and Jin walked away from the scene, heading towards another district.

"Ever since you came and stopped me from helping the kid!" Jin said with his arms crossed behind his head.

"Look, we don't want you to get exposed right away, ok? We're here to take a break, not to get more marines on our tails! Plus, as long as they think you're dead, the better!" Chris explained to him, while Jin just shrugged it off and turned his head the other way.

Chris and Jin then casually entered a Restaurant, only to find it in a huge commotion.

"AAARGH, WHAT THE HELL??" everybody lifted from their tables, as they stared at their plates. "THE FOOD IS ALIVE! WHAT KIND OF SICK RESTAURANT IS THIS?!" everybody then ran out of the restaurant, comically stomping over the waiters, and knocking everything down. Jin and Chris then slowly stepped into the Restaurant, as they saw a spiky, pink haired man, dressed in a cook's uniform rushing over them, with an utmost, killing intent.

Beside them, they noticed a girl hidden behind a fallen table, giggling uncontrollably. The girl was tan, with a splash of freckles over her face. She was dressed in an orange tank top, with long, black slacks and brown sandals. What caught the most interest to Jin, out of all her characteristics, was her brown, wavy hair with the orange tips. His eyes then burst open, in comical surprise.

"AAAH, IT'S HER! IT'S THE GIRL FROM BACK AT THE DOCKS!!" Chris then took a look at the girl, who seemed to have only noticed them now. Suddenly, the table she was hiding behind was shoved aside to reveal a very angry looking cook.

"YOU AGAIN? I OUGHTA SLICE YOU UP FOR DESSERTS!!!" once he tried to take a hold of her, she punched him…

… straight in the nuts.

The man then slowly dropped to the floor, holding on to his… lower half, in comical agony, while the girl managed to escape from the Restaurant. Jin, just by simply staring at the man, somehow felt a sting of pain running a bit among his lower half, too.

"That must've been worse than death to him, I bet!" Jin's conclusion was then answered once he heard the weak noises coming from the cook.

"_K-K… K-Kill me now!"_

----------

"Argh, thanks for the help!" the man told them, as he placed a bag of ice over his… lower half.

(A/N: IT JUST FEELS AWKWARD TO ME WRITING ABOUT THAT!!!)

"It's no problem, dude!" Chris said, as the three of them sat on a table, in the middle of the Restaurant, which was being cleaned up by the waiters and other cooks.

"I'm Gary, the Chief-Cook of this Restaurant!" the cook said.

"I'm Jin! Nice to meet you!" Jin said, introducing himself, slumping lazily back into the chair.

"I'm Chris! Nice to meet you too!" Chris introduced herself too, rolling her eyes at Jin's lazy actions.

"Who was that girl? And why did the clients run away like that?" Jin asked, looking at the fallen plates on the restaurant's floor. Gary just sighed at the question.

"Her name's Aven! She usually runs around town, causing mischief wherever she goes!" Gary explained, as he went into a thinking state. "I heard she's an orphan, so that must be why she's always seeking attention!"

"Ok, but what about the sudden outburst of your clients?" Chris asked.

"She's a…" before Gary continued his explanations, he made sure no one was around, listening to their conversation. "… a Devil Fruit user!"

Jin and Chris then looked at each other, their doubts being finally explained and sorted out. Jin then turned to Gary.

"Does her ability have anything to do with some kind of hypnotism?" that was Jin's question, while Gary nodded.

"Yeah, she has the power to manipulate illusions at her will! That's why my clients thought that their food was, well, alive or something!" Gary told them. There was something that boggled both Jin's and Chris's minds: Gary had been at the point of ripping Aven off, but right now he was speaking of her mischief's with a pure smile in his face, and pride could practically drip from his speech. Gary then looked at them again and this time, a piercing glare stared deeply into them. "You're not any Bounty Hunters or Marine agents, are you?" Gary asked, with clear hatred in his voice. Jin and Chris just shook their heads, allowing Gary to sigh in relief, a grin spreading across his face once again. "Sorry, it's just that sometimes I talk too much, and I was afraid I had spoken too much to the wrong people this time!"

"Well, we're neither marines nor Bounty Hunters!" Chris told him, reassuring him.

"Yep, we're just starving, rookie pirates looking for a good meal!" Jin told him, as Gary laughed at his comment. Chris growled in frustration, as she smacked him upside his head, though both hers and Jin's stomachs roared in hunger.

Gary then asked one of the waiters to take down the orders of Jin and Chris. Once the waiter left, they resumed their chat.

----------

"AAH, one of the best meals EVER!" Jin commented, biting his last shrimp. "I'm completely crazy for shrimp!" he then burped as loud as possible, comically scaring people away in the outside of the Restaurant.

"Agreed! Though that doesn't mean you're not a pig!" Chris said, finishing her plate. The waiters then came and picked up the empty plates, leaving the three to their conversation.

"Well, as long as we're going into details with Aven, I might as well be honest about this! Don't you agree, Chris?" Jin asked, mockingly turning to Chris, who sighed.

"Sure, go right ahead!" she said, rolling her eyes.

Jin then demonstrated his powers by grabbing a nearby glass. He pointed his finger to the inside of the glass, and just like a water ooze, he filled the glass with water. The waiter then looked at him with amazement, as he nodded his head.

"You must control water, am I right?" Gary asked, while Jin nodded.

"Yep, I ate the Mizu Mizu no Mi, granting me the ability to control water!" Jin said, very cockily. "I'm a Waterman!"

"Well, I never thought that there would be a Devil Fruit that would actually give you the ability of something that is also any Devil Fruit user's weakness!" Gary said, pondering about the many possibilities that a Devil Fruit like that could grant to anyone. "You must be a pretty tough pirate, right?"

"Well yeah, I am! Though I never really explored this power, anyway!" Jin told him.

"And why haven't you? You could be a potential candidate to cross the Grand Line!" Gary told him, while both Jin and Chris lifted themselves up from their chairs, paying an even greater attention to Gary than before.

"Well, that's because…"

"Because he's TOO LAZY!" Chris finished for him. When Jin looked at her, she stuck out her tongue at him. "It's true, anyways!"

"Well, what about you Chris?" Gary asked.

"Oh, I fight with daggers!" Chris said, though the rest of her speech was cut off by someone who suddenly entered in the Restaurant.

"And HOW!" The person commented. That person who entered was none other than the blonde man dressed in the black/purple training suit and white sneakers. "I saw you when you fought against those three pirates! You gave them quite a beating!"

"What the hell are you doing here? Didn't I tell you that I didn't want you coming around here anymore?" Gary asked him, rising from his seat, dropping the bag of ice on the floor. The blonde man, however, just chuckled.

"What was that? A long night of fun, huh? SHIKAKAKAKAKAKA!!!" the blonde man laughed at his own remarks.

"… Hey Gary, who is this clown?" Jin simply asked, while Gary laughed at Jin's remark.

"His name is…"

"I can make my own introductions!" the man told him, as he turned to Jin. "My name is Genkoumaru, and I'm the best Bounty Hunter of the East Blue!"

At that point, Chris also joined in the laughter. "Wow, now THAT'S something! Get outta here, everyone knows the best Bounty Hunter that ever was and still is, is none other than the Second Pirate King's first-mate, Roronoa Zoro!" Genkoumaru then spat on the floor at Chris's mention of Roronoa Zoro.

"That's a pile of crap! Any Bounty Hunter who deems himself with such a title should NEVER join pirates! I refuse to think of him on such high standarts! "Pirate Hunter" Roronoa Zoro, TCH! What a joke!" Genkoumaru then turned to Gary. "Don't think that this is the last time you've seen me, cook!" before leaving, Genkoumaru sent one last look at Jin, who countered with one of his own. Genkoumaru then chuckled at Jin's action.

Gary then answered in rage. "It never is, you scum!" Genkoumaru walked out of the Restaurant, as Gary just sighed and slumped back into his chair.

Silence reigned for a few seconds, until Jin decided to speak up.

"What does he do when he comes into this Restaurant?" Jin asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Once he finds a pirate that's wanted by the marines, he immediately beats him to a pulp, and then drags him into Marine Headquarters! That scares my clients away!" Gary said, as he ruffed through his hair with his fingers.

"_So THAT'S why he acted towards Aven like that! All of these frustrations must really take a lot from him, huh? I just hope he didn't scare her as much!" _Chris thought, looking at the tired cook in front of her.

"Even though I'm more worried about Aven's safety! If he ever finds out about her, then God help her!" Gary said, though Jin and Chris still managed to hear him.

"What do you mean…?" Jin asked, while Gary just brushed it off.

"It's nothing, not of a matter! Before you go, I'd like you to do one thing!" He then walked towards the kitchen, and a few seconds later he came back with a small, red box. "I'd like you to go look for Aven! I hardly get the time to see her, and since I see that you're people of trust, I'd like you to give her this!"

Jin grabbed the small box, placing it under his arm.

"It's food that I made for her! I know she likes the food I make for her, so she might as well enjoy this!" Gary told them, as they both nodded. "She might be at Lilina's Library! Even though she may not look like it, she's an extremely intelligent girl! I wish you two good luck on your adventures! And DON'T let anyone follow you! If someone like Genkoumaru followed you to Aven, things would get pretty ugly! Don't underestimate him! He knows more than what he seems to know"

They both said goodbye to Gary, as they walked off the Restaurant.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he already knew who you are… Jinketsu Namura… Chrisanthia Hopkins…"

----------

"SO, which way is the Library?" Jin asked, while Chris just pointed to a nearby plaque that indicated that the way to the Library would be after 5 streets from where they were. Jin then fell back ala anime style, while Chris had to grab on to the box so it wouldn't fall to the floor.

"YOU IDIOT!! I'll hold on to this, if you don't mind!" Chris said, while walking to the next street with Jin following right behind her.

A figure could be seen on the top of the Restaurant, watching Chris and Jin now far away. It was none other than Genkoumaru, smiling wickedly.

"If this pink-haired moron thinks I'm stupid enough to just leave this be, he must be getting more retarded by the minute! SHIKAKAKAKAKA!" Genkoumaru laughed as he jumped from one building to another, silently following Jin and Chris.

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

AND finally! I told you I wasn't gonna procrastinate on this one! XD

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! And to the anonymous reviewers who gave me the OCs, I will need a little more details in order to get your OCs in, or else it's a no-show! XP

On a side-note, I will, from now on, ANSWERING ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT "THE WAY OF THE KAIZOKU", ALA EICHIRO ODA… that is, unless they involve spoilers, which I won't answer! XD

So please, READ AND REVIEW!!!


	7. I' Dentity Crisis III

"I could've sworn I saw someone!" Jin muttered, looking back. Brushing it off, he went back to his trip.

"Whatever food is in this box, it smells pretty good!" Chris said, catching the intense scent of the food contained in the small, red box carried by her. The box itself was very simple, designed with a bright, red color, and the straps that kept the box closed had the form of a Chef's hat.

"Hmm, I wonder where Harry is…"

----------

"ACHOOO!" Harry then sniffed, rubbing his nose with a pink inky.

(A/N: Ironic, isn't it?)

"Someone is talking about me!" Harry thought to himself, as he walked around Lilina's streets, passing through the crowds. Distracted, he failed to notice a certain passer-byer, both of them ending bumping into each other. This passer-byer had the appearance of an orange, black dotted cheetah, wearing sneakers and with sun-glasses on. He was also holding a red bag of chips.

"Hey, watch where you're going, jack-ass!" Roared the cheetah out, as he just kept on walking, leaving Harry puzzled.

"… Incredible, just incredible!" Harry commented, as he got back to his walk around town. "People in this town are either blind, or have a "bumping" fetish!"

----------

"It's quite interesting to see that you still came even after finding out who called you here!" a voice came from a hidden figure that laid against the wall of a house near a beach. That figure stood in the shadow, though it lit up a cigarette, so the light revealed half his face. His most noticeable feature was the curliness of his eyebrow.

"How couldn't I?" the one who was walking close to the hidden figure was none other than Gray Beard. "… "Black Leg", Sanji!"

Sanji just grinned at the man's remark. "Well, you were never one for backing down, that's for sure! Sometimes, I question why I don't kick your ass because of that feature!"

"Maybe because it reminds you of your late captain?" Gray Beard asked, though this time, Sanji remained silent. Gray Beard then laughed at his own remark, plastering a slight smile on Sanji's face. "All in due time, buddy! If you don't wanna talk about it, then that's fine with me! Though I must say, in his Pirate King days, he did give me quite the challenge!"

"Quite the challenge? I thought he ended up beating you!" Sanji said, looking straight at Gray Beard while taking a puff of his cigarette.

"Oh, and he did! But that doesn't mean I can't compliment the challenge that he gave me, am I right?" Gray Beard asked. Then, Gray Beard narrowed his eyes, but kept his smile, changing to a more serious tone of voice. "Although I still haven't found the reason for this chat!"

Dropping his cigarette on a nearby ash tray from a table set up close to him, he picked up a newspaper and pointed to a particular subject. "Explain the storm, if you can!"

Gray Beard then took the newspaper, and read the column. After finished reading, he gave a hearty laugh, which made Sanji raise his eyebrow. "Well? How can you explain this storm that disbanded your crew? At first, I thought you were the only survivor…"

"Just as I thought at first! I also believed that I was the only survivor, but it seems like my navigator survived as well!" Gray Beard said, whereas the title of the subject pointed out by Sanji was "World's Most Dangerous Man's navigator spotted in Fuschia Town with "Dirty" Harry Hanford and local pirate Chris Hopkins".

"It's not just the fact that he survived the storm! It's the fact that he was dragged from one Blue to the other, JUST LIKE THAT!" he said, adding a snap of his fingers to the dramatic side of his speech. "No person has ever done such a thing, at least without crossing the Calm Belt, especially without a ship!" Sanji then made a pause. "And it's not just that… YOU ended up like him, only this time, you ended up here, on the Grand Line…"

Gray Beard then took a few seconds to analyze all the information, until a grin also spread across his bearded face.

"Hmm… yes, I see what you mean! He's in the company of Hanford, as well! Isn't this a coincidence?" Gray Beard commented, dropping the newspaper on the table.

"Well, I was never one for letting these coincidences slip by with my eyes closed!" Sanji replied. "That storm wasn't a random, sudden storm! It was something more than just a coincidence! And these "after-shocks" are the proof of it! And I'm pretty certain that the only survivors of that wreckage were only you and your navigator!"

"Hmm, I think you're right! Not even Jin was able to predict that storm, or else he would've told me about it even if he had just the slightest feeling about it…" Gray Beard then raised his sight straight to Sanji, an evil grin plastered on his face. "Because that's how loyal he is, Black Leg Sanji!"

The two of them shared a silence; a silence that lasted mere seconds, but for them seemed like an eternity of mutual respect and pride.

"I see you must leave, now! I'm always glad to have you here in my presence!" Sanji said, as he noticed Gray Beard leaving, as he opened the door to his house.

"Yes, I have to go! Oh, and the gladness is all mine!" Gray Beard said, as he snickered. "Maybe next time I can try out that magnificent cooking of yours that tamed the Second Pirate King!"

"Of course!" Sanji said, laughing, as both walked to their destinations.

_And so, this day was marked as the first encounter of two legends, in this New Age of Piracy. An encounter that would bring forth terrible consequences, and multiple, cataclysmic chains of events…_

_Only time can tell, now… How things will turn out._

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**I. Dentity Crisis (III)**

**Genkoumaru, a Man of Small Philosophies**

"I'M CROCODILE, SHICHIBUKAI OF THE SAND!! I'M HERE TO GET YOU, STRAW HAT!"

Two kids were playing pirates on the streets of Lilina Island. One had a plastic hook on his hand, imitating Sir Crocodile, and the other had a straw hat, a scar draw under his left eye, imitating Monkey D. Luffy. Up ahead were Jin and Chris, talking peacefully, and after a taking a turn, we can see someone jumping from a building.

Suddenly, the kids playing pirates bumped into that person. Looking up, we could see it was Genkoumaru, who groaned in annoyance.

"Shit, I lost them!" Genkoumaru thought to himself, as he started walking in Jin and Chris's last direction, when he suddenly looked back to find the kid with the plastic hook crying. His plastic hook was now lying on the ground, stepped on, and deformed. It no longer took the shape of a hook, not even similar to one.

Genkoumaru stood there for a few seconds, until he sighed and with smile, walked up to the little kid. Picking up a nearby piece of wood, he took a grip at his weapon. In swings that ended in the blink of an eye, the piece of wood now took the shape of a hook, with its tip still sharp, though enough not to hurt anyone while at playing. He then gave it to the kid.

"Here you go, kid! I'm sorry for having stepped on your weapon!" The kids both smiled, as they watched Genkoumaru turn around and leave. Suddenly, one of the kids finally decided to ask him his question. "Who are you, anyway?"

Genkoumaru then slowly turned his head, and just chuckled.

"I'm Genkoumaru, and…" Genkoumaru then turned around to leave, but still finishing his sentence. "… people used to call me the Man of Small Philosophies!" all while the kids just stood there in awe.

From afar, Harry just watched the scene, while chuckling to himself.

"Who would've thought that the Man of Small Philosophies would be so compassionate?" Harry muttered.

----------

"FINALLY!" They both commented, having spent a whole hour looking for the Library through various indications from the Island's citizens, most of them being wrong indications. Walking to the large stone stairs that led to the Library of Lilina Island, Chris then walked up to a plaque, as she began reading it.

"Lilina Island's Library, East Blue's Largest Library!" Chris read, as Jin whistled in minor curiosity.

"Isn't it a given? Ending up right on the Island with East Blue's Largest Library?" Jin said, mockingly. "Would've been one hell of a field trip, if I was still in school…"

"Well, let's get in, then!" Chris and Jin stepped inside the library. The inside was the largest division that they had ever seen, where huge shelves, lined up in rows, possessed all kinds of books. They were walking around, until they came across a brunette woman, with glasses, dressed in a red jacket, with a small plaque that read "Librarian, Mary Johnson", a knee-length, tight black skirt and black high heels.

"Do you need any help?" the woman, seemingly named Mary asked them.

"Maybe! We're looking for a girl named Aven! Do you have any idea where we can find her?" Mary then stepped back at Chris's request.

"There's no one here by that name! Now if you aren't here to read or to research on any of books on display, I'd suggest you to leave!" the Librarian told them. Before walking away, Jin then spoke up.

"We were sent here by a cook named Gary, from a restaurant on this Island! Though it's a shame Aven won't get one of meals now!" Jin said, half loud for the woman to hear, and half commenting. Once the woman turned to face them, Jin slightly grinned.

"You were sent here by Gary, then?" Chris and Jin silently nodded, as the Librarian sighed. "Come with me, then!"

The Librarian then led Chris and Jin through a few rows, until they reached an area in the far corners of the Library. The title of the row of books was none other than "Archaeology", and on one of the tables, sitting and reading all alone was Aven, the girl that they had seen earlier and that Gary had told them about.

"Nice trick, having the woman hear you talk about our purpose so that she'd have trust in us!" Chris whispered, at which Jin smiled cockily.

"Thanks, I learnt it when I was in…" Jin then took a brief pause. "… I can't remember where I learn it!"

Chris then sighed. Jin still hadn't recovered his memories, and she knew it would take some more time until he had the slightest flash of remembrance.

The Librarian then walked up to Aven, as she ruffled her hair.

"Aven, dear, there are some friends here to see you!" The Librarian told her, at which Aven looked up in surprise, turning her gaze to Jin and Chris.

"F-Friends?" Aven asked, at which the Librarian raised an eyebrow. "OH YEAH, MY FRIENDS! Sure, I know them! Come here, you two dimwits!"

The three shared a few short laughs, though right through a very awkward moment. It was obvious for both Chris and Jin that Aven was staging all of this so that the woman wouldn't start distrusting them. The Librarian smiled, and decided to leave the three, walking away. Chris then placed the red box on the table.

"Gary sent you this! He said you enjoyed his cooking, and…"

"Enjoy it? I FREAKING LOVE IT! WOW, TELL HIM THAT I MILLION THANK HIM!!!" she said, as she suddenly hugged Chris, who felt a bit uneasy at this. Jin looked and laughed at Chris. The two then took a seat, and decided to chat.

"I remember seeing you earlier today at his restaurant! How long have you known him?" Aven asked, out of curiosity.

"Just today, back at when you saw us!" Jin answered, at which Aven just stared at him.

"J-Just today?!? And he already trusts you and used you as delivery kids?!" Aven asked, laughing shortly after. "That's Gary, alright! Making friends and letting everything in his knowledge slip! So, who are you guys, anyway?"

"I'm Chrisanthia Hopkins!" Chris told her, resulting in one of Aven's outbursts.

"HEY, I heard of you! You were that pirate that was giving a lot of trouble for the marines at Fuschia Island, the home of the Second Pirate King, right?" Aven asked, at which Chris just grinned, feeling that pirate pride swelling in her.

"Yep that's me, alright!"

"And what about you?" Aven asked, directed at Jin.

"My name is Jinketsu Namura, or just Jin for short!" Jin said, while Aven looked at him with a piercing stare that made Jin a bit uncomfortable. "W-What is it?"

"I think I've heard that name somewhere… Though I don't know where! To be honest, if I remember right, I've heard more than once, and on different subjects, too…"

"What do you mean with subjects?" Jin asked, at which Aven laughed.

"Oh, don't mind me! Since I've been reading books for most of my life, I've ordered every bit of information through "subjects", so it's no harm at all!" Jin then sat back, reeling back on his thoughts. Though everything broke as Aven questioned them again.

"So, I suppose you are now sailing around, like true pirates, huh?" Aven asked.

"Yep, we sure are!" Jin replied, this time, being him who began swelling with pirate pride.

"Do you have any plans on where you're taking your adventures?" Aven asked.

"Well, not really… I guess we're just sailing around, having adventures, and…"

"We're going to the Grand Line!" Jin suddenly said, shocking both Aven AND Chris, who looked at Jin like he was one of those freaks of the circus.

"You decide something like that, and you don't even tell me about it?" Chris asked, while Jin just came up with something that would take him out of an argument. He then lazily said: "Surprise…", as he slumped into the chair, his arms crossed behind his head. Chris just groaned, though a smile grew on her face.

"Even though it's definitely a great decision! Sailing through the Grand Line and facing its many dangers as a way of life!" Chris then turned to Jin, who was practically dozing off. "Jin, that's the best idea you've ever had!"

"… until now…" Jin lazily finished for her, now REALLY starting to doze off, as both Chris and Aven laughed.

"Well… do you mind if I join your crew?" Aven asked, at which Chris looked up.

"To be honest, we still don't have a crew! We've been travelling with a friend of ours, so it's not like we have a crew, or anything!" Chris admitted, though Aven just brushed Chris's excuses off.

"I don't care; I'd rather be around with you until you form a crew! I can guess you're strong, or you wouldn't have reached this place! It's not like every pirate can survive sailing from an Island to the other easily!" Aven replied, at which Chris nodded. "It's alright with me! Though Jin still gets the word!"

Jin then, like he had been listening to the whole conversation, lazily lifted a thumbs up, signaling that he approved the idea. Aven then cheered wildly, while Chris laughed at the sudden events.

----------

Genkoumaru finally found the Library, as he passed the entrance after the stairs. The Librarian then came up to him.

"Is there anything I can help you with, sir?" the woman asked, at which Genkoumaru nodded.

"Yes, I am looking for a girl named Aven! Do you, by any casualty, know her?" Once again, and for the second time today, the Librarian felt uneasy with a stranger. Yet this one didn't transpire the same feeling of trust she had with the other two kids she had been with.

"N-No, I have not! You must be mistaken! Now, if you will…" Genkoumaru then shoved the woman aside, as she hit the counter and fell unconscious, but not before yelling to the far corner of the Library.

"AVEN, RUN! HE'S AFTER YOU!!!"

From afar, Genkoumaru caught Aven, Jin and Chris walking around one of the rows. The three turned around, and watched as Genkoumaru ran up to them, and in one swift moion, he swung his weapon, as one of its blades slashed through the air, sending a small mass of air in Aven's direction. Unable to avoid it, the mass of air hit the red box she was carrying, slicing it up into bits, and slashing through her belly and her hands, which were carrying the box. Suddenly, something ticked inside of Aven.

----------

"_MOMMY, DADDY, NOO!!" Aven, a much younger Aven, watched as her parents were getting beaten up by a group of thugs, as she just laid there, in a puddle of blood, with multiple bruises around her._

"_AVEN, RUN, PLEASE!!!" Aven's mom told her, as both her and Aven's dad kept getting beaten up, kicked, punched and batted at. Aven just screamed, hoping someone, somewhere could hear her._

----------

The scream she heard through the flash was now echoing in her mind, as she slowly fell unconscious. Chris and Jin then looked at Genkoumaru, as he took a piece of paper from his pocket. It was a bounty poster. It had the picture of Aven, and bounty prize was none other than…

"95.000.000 belli?!?" Both Chris and Jin watched in awe at the sight of Aven's bounty.

"I'm a Bounty Hunter, so it's my job to deliver her to the marines!" Genkoumaru then walked up to them, without a care, not even knowing that there was an incoming projectile in his way. Taking a punch-shaped, watery projectile in his face, he crashed against a nearby shelf, tearing it to pieces, and letting the books fall down. He then lifted himself up and looked at Jin, who had thrown the punch at him.

"W-WHO the hell are you, kid? What did you just do?!" Genkoumaru replied, though Jin looked straight at Chris, who was now taking a hold of the unconscious Aven.

"Take her away to safety, Chris! You're the one here who has most knowledge about hiding, from what you told me!" Jin then turned to the bloody-nosed Genkoumaru. "Just leave this clown to me!"

Chris nodded, as she walked in the opposite direction of Genkoumaru. Genkoumaru then attempted to go after them, though a wet chain wrapped around his waist. It was actually Jin's leg that had extended and had taken the shape of a chain.

"You're not going anywhere! MIZU MIZU NO CHAIN, THROW!!!" Jin yelled, as he threw Genkoumary against the nearest wall.

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

Alright, another update! I can't say much now, I'm in one heck of a hurry, so please!

Enjoy the chapter!!!


	8. I' Dentity Crisis IV

"Damn it, I just hope Jin can handle that guy!!" Chris commented, as she ran from the Library. Carrying the unconscious Aven with her, Chris used her acrobatic skills to climb the Library's building. She then carefully laid Aven against one of the upper pillars of the roof, while taking out a few bandages she had in her pockets. Quickly, she bandaged Aven's hands and the many cuts around her belly.

"C'mon Jin, I know you can do this!"

"W-Where is he?" Aven asked weakly, as she tried to lift herself up, though the pain still restrained her.

"C'mon, don't try to pull any useless effort! He's alright!" Chris assured her, as she smiled. "Jin is very strong, in case you're unaware!" She then took a brief pause, before asking. "Didn't you try to save Jin earlier today?"

"I tried, and I did save him! The marines had him cornered…"

----------

"… _and I thought he was gonna get killed!"_

_The scene then changes to the moment earlier that day, where Jin was cornered by five marines. Jin then braced himself for the bullets, grinning at the five marines armed with rifles._

_Aven then did a few hands movements, and a transparent glow flowed through the docks, as she muttered: "Tricks…"._

_The bullets, however, passed through Jin. The marines, having been affected by Aven's illusion, though that they had seen Jin getting killed, so they left the scene, happier than ever. Jin, dumbstruck, looked up at the building where Aven was and looked at her square in the eye. Aven then took a step back and ran away, with Jin chasing after her. _

----------

"I used the powers of my Meimu Meimu no Mi, giving me the ability to conjure illusions!" Aven told her, groaning at the pain she was feeling.

"Wait, why did you run away? I'm pretty sure he was just going to ask you how you did that…" Chris then took a brief, comical pause. "… or yell at you for spoiling his fun…"

"Well… to be honest… men scare me in general…" Aven said, while Chris sweat-dropped.

----------

"Very interesting!" Genkoumaru said, as he dusted his clothes off while he lifted himself up from the pile of wreckage. The wall he had crashed against thanks to Jin's attack had gained a hole to the outside, as more and more wreckage spread on the streets. Genkoumaru then grinned, as he took out his double bladed stick. "I presume you have the ability to control water, am I right?"

Jin nodded. "Well, then that just makes things more fun, then! It's been a while since I've had a decent fight! I might as well enjoy it while it lasts… After all, once I'm finished with you, I'll deliver that girl along with you, Devil Fruit user!" He then maneuvered the weapon like it was a harmless toy, dancing with it as he stepped forth to Jin. "I'd like to introduce you to my… special lady!"

"Special... lady?" Jin stuttered, as he took a look at the large stick in Genkoumaru's hands. The weapon had, on each edge, a round blade that spun at the slightest movement.

"Yes, that's right! Her name's Belleza, and she's gonna be the cause of your demise!" Genkoumaru said, as he pointed one of the round blades at Jin.

(A/N: Belleza = Beauty, translated from Spanish)

"You treat your weapon like a woman?" Jin asked at the very awkward man he was fighting, as he stepped into his Jujitsu stance.

"That's right! I'm a gentleman to the women who deserve to see that façade of mine! Even to my weapon!!" Genkoumaru replied, grinning like he was completely demented.

"Well, wouldn't that mean that you're… hiding behind your woman's skirts?" Jin mockingly asked, whilst this time, Genkoumaru's grin had turned into a sadistic glare, as he ran up to Jin, taking a firm grip at his weapon.

"BELLEZA: ESPINAS DE LA ROSA!!!" Genkoumaru yelled, as he did a rapid, double swing with his weapon, striking the two spinning blades on Jin's shoulders, leaving two large cuts along the sides of his collarbone, as his jacket was ripped and blood now poured from the wounds, trailing along his chest. The movement was so fast, Jin's eyes couldn't even record the speed, and all he saw was a blur.

(A/N: Belleza: Espinas de la Rosa = Beauty: Thorns of the Rose, for those who can't understand Spanish)

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**I. Dentity Crisis (IV)**

**Jin vs. Genkoumaru, FRIENDS OVER BOUNTIES**

"ARGH!!!" Jin screamed, holding on to his shoulders. But the thing is, the slightest movement he did with his arms caused the wounds to send more and more furious jolts of pain throughout his body. Genkoumaru smirked at the sight of Jin kneeling down, holding on to his blood-soaked shoulders.

"That's the price you pay for stopping a Bounty Hunter from doing his job!" Genkoumaru said, as he began cracking knuckles and neck, as he stood near the hole made by Jin's attack. "And I thought this was going to be a good match!" Genkoumaru started walking up to the kneeled down Jin, as he raised up Belleza, and lunged it down, ready thrust it into Jin's head.

"BELLEZA: EJECUCIÓN !!!" Genkoumaru yelled, though the weapon never reached its target, as in the last second, Jin rolled out of the way. Genkoumaru smirked at Jin's escape.

(A/N: Belleza: Ejecución = Beauty: Execution)

"You're a slippery bastard, that's for sure!" Genkoumaru commented, as Jin lifted himself up. "Though you're not far from getting killed." Genkoumaru then swung his weapon in Jin's direction, unleashing the same mass of air that struck Aven, only this one was bigger.

"BELLEZA: ESPÍRITU DE PERDÓN!!!" Genkoumaru yelled, as the mass of air rapidly neared Jin. At the last second, pulling a lot of effort, Jin moved out of the way, as the mass of air collided against one of the walls, literally slashing through it, cutting it to bits of stones, resulting in more wreckage.

(A/N: Belleza: Espíritu de Perdón = Beauty: Spirit of Forgiveness)

"I can't keep running from his attacks! I'll just be wasting my energy in vain! I need to find a way to strike him…" Jin thought to himself, and at that instant, he noticed that one of the holes in the wall had a few dislodged pipes that were leaking water. "Pipes, huh? Hmm…" Jin wondered, as he was hit dead on with another Espíritu de Perdón, bruising and opening cuts all around his body. Jin struggled not to collapse, though Genkoumaru walked towards the blood-soaked Jin, whose head was down.

"Had enough? You should NEVER take your eyes off your opponents, or else things like these happen!" Genkoumaru said, as he chuckled. "Once I'm finished with you, I'll find that Aven girl, and deliver you along with her to the Marines…"

Jin's fists then tightened their grip, as a sudden flow of rage snapped from his heart and ran through his body.

"… And maybe I'll deliver that other kid, too, for maintaining relations with Devil Fruit users! I'm sure the Marines will find a way to incarcerate you three, and maybe my reward will grow in value, and…"

"N-N-No…"

Genkoumaru then raised an eyebrow at Jin's sudden response. "No… what?"

"You won't take us… I won't let you… Take away my friends, I won't let you…" Genkoumaru then burst out laughing at Jin's comments, as his laughter echoed through the library.

"SHIKAKAKAKAKAKA! YOU? WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" Genkoumaru commented arrogantly, wiping the tears of laughter that fell from his eyes. "You aren't the one to decide here, in case you still haven't noticed! You're a failure as a logia user, a failure as a pirate, and even a failure as a… "friend"!" Genkoumaru spat the last part with piercing disdain, as Jin suddenly raised his head at Genkoumaru, a truly sadistic glare that could fright the Devil itself was plastered in his face.

"You can call me a failed logia, you can even call me a failed pirate…" Jin then reeled his fist back, encased in water, and rapidly thrust it in Genkoumaru's face, throwing him against a near shelf, as he crashed through one shelf, and kept crashing through more and more shelves until he hit a wall in one of the other sides of the building, leaving numerous cracks in it. "… BUT NEVER DARE TO CALL ME A FAILED FRIEND AGAIN!!!!"

Jin then ran to the other side of the Library, where a fallen Genkoumaru stood. Jin then grinned, as a clear aura started surrounding his body, as he jumped in Genkoumaru's direction, who started to slowly lift himself up.

"Weren't you the one who told me to never take my eyes off my opponents? Well, I guess this applies to you…

MIZU MIZU NO TORPEDO!!!" Jin yelled, as he took the form of a torpedo, lunging each second closer to Genkoumaru. The tired Genkoumaru then grinned, as in a swift movement, he picked up Belleza, and side-slashed Jin multiple times, the speed of each movement resulting in a blur, ending with both fighters standing with their backs turned to each other. Seconds passed, until a black spot started to form around Genkoumaru's stomach, a clear sign of internal bleeding. After spitting a bit of blood, Genkoumaru muttered:

"Belleza: Traición de la Alma Gemela…"

(A/N: Belleza: Traición de la Alma Gemela = Beauty: Betrayal of the Soul Mate)

Suddenly, three large, parallel cuts ripped through Jin's back, as blood gushed violently from those three wounds. Genkoumaru chuckled, as he just stood there, turning around to face the, once more, kneeled down, blood-soaked Jin.

"Did you really think that sending me crashing through bookshelves would take me out? Kid, I've crashed through MORE THAN ONE BUILDING!" Genkoumaru then cracked his neck. "You know, if I ever had a Devil Fruit like that, believe me, I wouldn't drip a single drop of blood! You rely only on your brute strength, and forget to forge strategies! A good fighter is the one who can explore his fighting style to the limits, and can master each limit! You, however, possess a powerful Devil Fruit, and yet, you do nothing with it! I guess a person like you, delusional with all of these "friendship" philosophies, can never have a taste of true power!" Genkoumaru then took a step in Jin's direction, raising his weapon up in the air. "Let me finish you off, so I don't waste my time any longer.

BELLEZA: EJECU… what the hell?!" Genkoumaru tried to move, though it seemed like something was restraining his body, as he became paralyzed in that position. "Why can't I move? What the…?" Glacing around, he noticed a few jets of water connecting to his limbs, assuming that this was the cause of his sudden paralysis.

"How did you do this?" Genkoumaru asked, while Jin slowly turned around, and pointed to the holes on the walls and on the ground. Genkoumaru then forcefully turned his head to those different sights and noticed the peculiar thing that connected each sight: every each jet that paralyzed him came from dislodged pipes that sprouted from the holes on the walls and on the ground. Genkoumaru, once again forcefully turning his head, looked straight at Jin, who slowly smirked.

"Well? Where was that crap about how I can't design strategies, or being incapable of taking advantage of my Devil Fruit powers?" Jin said, his cocky side slowly returning to his fighting spirirt. Genkoumaru then closed his eyes, smiling at the scene.

"I see… you made several jets of your water travel through the pipe channels, and using the fact that they were dislodged, placed me in this mess!" Genkoumaru concluded, as Jin only nodded. "Though there is still one thing that bothers me… how come you did all of this without me noticing, and without feeling the jets touching me?"

"Well, that's easy… All the water I drip through my sweat doesn't really disappear… it's still a sentient liquid, and I can control it at will…"

"… That's just gross!"

"Hey, that's life for you! Getting your ass kicked is my priority right now!" Jin said.

"Then tell me why I couldn't feel your… sweat touching me…"

"Because if you felt it, I knew my strategy would go down the drain…

(A/N: NO PUN INTENDED!!)

… So I did the only thing that came to my mind…" Jin plainly said, as Genkoumaru then slowly burst his eyes open, now understanding the full extent of Jin's plan.

"… You connected your jets to my own sweat, didn't you?" Jin smirked at Genkoumaru's conclusion, as he cracked his knuckles.

"Yep, that's what I did, alright! My jets connect to your sweat, and keep you restrained by infiltrating AND expanding in your pores, all through your own sweat; cause after all, sweat is water! I call this creation… the Mizu Guuzou!" Jin said, as he reeled both of his fists back.

(A/N: Mizu Guuzou = Water Statue)

"MIZU MIZU NO PISTOL!!!" Jin yelled, as two fist-shaped, watery projectiles were launched towards by him towards Genkoumaru, hitting its target square in the stomach, though he remained trapped in the Mizu Guuzou.

"ARGH!" Both fists seemed to have connected with Genkoumaru's black spot, resulting in Genkoumaru spitting even more blood. Jin then stretched himself, and turned around, walking away. Genkoumaru looked up to Jin, in surprise.

"And where the hell do you think you're going?" Genkoumaru asked, struggling to free himself from the Mizu Guuzou.

"I'm walking out of here! It's obvious you won't free yourself from that so soon, and once the marines arrive, you'll have to respond to crimes, such as disturbance of the peace, involvement in vandalizing activities and all that other crap…" Jin said lazily, as he began walking out of the building through one of the holes on the wall.

"Don't think this is over, I'll go back after your friends! I will never stop until I capture each one of them! I'll catch you and your stupid friends…"

Jin then suddenly turned around, a burning glare visible on his face. "I wouldn't keep talking if I were you!"

"Any person who thinks high of himself because of having friends is a clear moron!" Jin then slowly walked towards Genkoumaru, practically ready to tear his limbs apart. "Don't think that I never had… "friends", as you call it! ALL were obstacles, in the end."

At the comparison of friends with obstacles, Jin suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking straight at the broken-down Genkoumaru.

"You consider your friends… obstacles?" Jin asked, though this question didn't come off as furious. It was mostly a confused question, though a small portion of venom could still be felt in his words. Genkoumaru laughed at Jin's question; it sounded so naïve when heard by him, the Man of Small Philosophies.

"Of course! Better yet, I would most precisely consider them… TARGETS! Yeah, that's it!"

"T-Targets?" Jin asked, practically stuttering on each word he pronounced. Jin, who had depended on friendship throughout his whole life, part of which he had now forgotten, now had a burning feeling deep inside of him that told him that this man was no good. Friendship, to him, even after losing part of his memories, still felt like a decisive factor in his life. "What kind of person would consider his friends TARGETS?" Jin roared that last word with the most powerful hatred he could summon forth, giving Genkoumaru the more reasons to laugh.

"There are many "friends" out there. The same way that there are many obstacles out there to surpass!" Genkoumaru said. "That's one of my philosophies…"

"THE HELL WITH YOUR PHILOSOPHIES! YOU ARE NOT THE ONE WHO'S GONNA GIVE ME A SPEECH ABOUT FRIENDSHIP!" Jin yelled, as Genkoumaru kept laughing.

"Let me tell you something, kid…"

----------

_Every person I became friends ended up taking the life of a pirate… And with a pirate life, comes a bounty… I guess you know the rest._

_The scene shows an alley, where a younger Genkoumaru is talking to man. The man had messy, blue hair and was dressed in casual clothes._

"_So Genkou', what do you think about joining my pirate crew?" The man asked, as Genkoumaru raised an eyebrow._

"_Join your pirate crew? YOUR pirate crew?" Genkoumaru asked, disbelief crossing his mind._

"_Yeah! I even got a bounty, look…" The man then took from his pocket a poster with his picture and bounty, which was 5.000.000 belli. "So, what do you think?"_

_Genkoumaru then remained silent for a few seconds, before grabbing Belleza, and raising it in the air._

"_I think… I'm in the need of 5.000.000 belli right now… BELLEZA: EJECUCIÓN!!!" Screams could be heard throughout the town they were in._

…_. EVEN the woman I loved soon gained a bounty of her own._

_The scene changes to a room in an apartment, where Genkoumaru was in bed, kissing a woman dressed in traditional clothes, and who had long, blonde hair tied in a ponytail._

"_OH Genki', I love you so much! I wish I could stay with you forever!" The woman told Genkoumaru, who looked at her with a questioning look._

"_W-What do you mean?" To answer his question, the woman showed him a bounty, which had her picture and her bounty, which was 1.000.000 belli. "S-Since when did you become a pirate?"_

"_Ever since I met you, darling! My crew leaves tomorrow, and I thought I could leave with a pretty memory. What do you think?" The woman asked, smiling at the silent Genkoumaru._

_Genkoumaru said nothing, before he rapidly pulled out Belleza, as screams filled the night in the town._

_More and more people fell by my Belleza. My weapon was the only one that was sure to keep my trust. I never told anyone about my job as a Bounty Hunter, so no one would suspect. It was easier to gain someone's trust that way._

_A metaphorical scene was shown, where we see Genkoumaru walking through a path of darkness, and many flashbacks of people being killed by Genkoumaru is shown in the background._

_Now you tell me…_

----------

"… what are these friends useful for, anyway?" Genkoumaru asked Jin, who remained looking at him with a blunt look, letting every bit of information sink in. Suddenly, his rage and fury burst through him like an explosion, as he glared at Genkoumaru as intensely as possible.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK?!" Jin yelled, as the liquid jets that restrained Genkoumaru soon dropped to the ground, into simple puddles of water.

"AH, I knew that after a while, the effect would wear off! And now, to take care of YOU!!!" Genkoumaru replied, as in the blink of an eye, he jumped forward, and raised Belleza high up in the air, ready for an attack.

----------

"See, this is what awaits you once you join us!" Chris told Aven, as they were both hearing Jin's speech from one of roof's chimneys.

Aven, smiling, knew that joining them had been the best decision she had ever made.

"And I'm glad that that's what awaits me!" Aven said, as she randomly hugged Chris, who while laughing, kindly returned the hug.

----------

"NOW TO FINISH WHAT I STARTED!!

BELLEZA: EJECUCIÓN!!" The weapon then dropped to Jin's head, piercing it. The thing is, it seemed that the weapon just passed through Jin, while to Genkoumaru, it felt like he had sunk his weapon into water.

"I won't let you draw more blood from me anymore! You won't be able to touch me!" Jin said, keeping that fierce glare of his, as for the first time, a frightening look grew in Genkoumaru's face.

"W-W-What the hell? What the hell is wrong with you? Minutes ago, you hardly knew how to use that power of yours, and now you…"

"I need to… I need to control this power better than I do now…" Jin replied, as he raised his head, looking straight in Genkoumaru's eyes, as he watched fear flow into his mind. "… IF I WANT TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!!!"

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

WOOSH, it's done! I hope it didn't bother any of you, though it took me one long time to finish it. I wanted to get a quick update.

Anyways, don't miss the next chapter, as it's the heated conclusion to this arc, and the decisive finale of the battle between Jin and Genkoumaru!! Read and review, folks!


	9. I' Dentity Crisis V

"BELLEZA: ESPINAS DE LA ROSA!!!" Genkoumaru yelled, as he did a rapid, double swing with his weapon, burying it on Jin's shoulders. Though, once again, and like many of his other attempts, his weapon passed through Jin's body, whereas it felt like the weapon had been sunk in water. Genkoumaru then gritted his teeth in pure anger.

(A/N: Belleza: Espinas de la Rosa = Beauty: Thorns of the Rose)

"Shit, what the hell will it take to make you fall?" Genkoumaru commented, as he kept piercing Belleza through Jin, though the weapon just passed through him.

"I guess it's my turn now!" Jin said, with a highly cocky attitude, as he extended his leg, as it took the shape of a watery chain. Genkoumaru, not being fast enough to avoid the incoming lunge of the chain, got it stuck around his waist, as he was swung around like a rag doll, crashing through the many walls and bookshelves, until Jin threw him across the entire library, crashing against more bookshelves, until he passed by the unconscious Librarian and went to the outside. He then landed on the floor, still rolling on the floor for a few meters.

Jin then came running from the library and jumped high in the air, right above the fallen Genkoumaru. He then started spinning in mid air, diving right in Genkoumaru's direction.

"MIZU MIZU NO UZUMAKII!!!" Jin yelled, as the air rotating around him, plus the clear water aura of his Devil Fruit gave him the impression and similar appearance of some sort of a rotating, watery spear.

(A/N: Mizu Mizu no Uzumaki = Water Whirlpool)

Genkoumaru then rapidly rolled out of the way, as Jin crashed right where his opponent had been a few seconds earlier, whereas the rotation of his attacks and the force of the impact cracked and destroyed multiple parts of the floor around, raising and disfiguring the stones, creating a medium sized crater. The destruction around the center of the crater took the complete form of a whirlpool, where Genkoumaru just stood there, fazed by the complete obliteration made by Jin.

"S-S-Shit… That would've been my grave if it had hit me…" Genkoumaru muttered, as he moved away from the crater, breathing in and out abruptly, out of sheer exhaustion.

Jin then emerged from the crater, also breathing violently, as he looked back at the result of his attack. "WOW, that's just too much more than what I intended to do…" Jin thought, as he turned around to look at an also exhausted Genkoumaru.

From the top of the Library, both Chris and Aven watched as the fight progressed. Each slash that Genkoumaru delivered to Jin either passed through him, or opened cuts in his skin that would either drip water or nothing at all.

"This is amazing! Not even I knew he could be this resilient!" Chris said, as she watched the fight like it depended on her life, never once looking away for anything.

"C'MON JIN, GIVE HIM SOME OF THAT, AND THE OLD KICK TO THE GUT, AND FINISH HIM UP WITH AN UPPERCUT STRAIGHT THE JAW!!!!" Aven commented, as ecstatic and hyperactive as ever, as Jin synced each word she said, whilst he decided to take the offense, as Jin kneed Genkoumaru on his gut, delivered another blow to his gut, this time with a kick, and then did an uppercut right across Genkoumaru's jaw, using the impulse of a back flip to deliver extra damage.

"See, there's nothing you can do! Now you might wanna lift yourself up, and get out outta here with your tail between your legs before I change my mind!" Jin said, as Genkoumaru tightened more and more the grip on his fist and on his weapon, his rage consuming him by the second. He had never been this humiliated in his whole, entire life. This kid was definitely going to pay, HARD, even if it took him an arm or two. No matter what it took, he would be sure to deliver his head to the marines, along with his friends' heads.

"This is not over yet, you runt…" Genkoumaru replied, as Jin just grinned at the comment.

"Sure, whatever, but until then I'll just…. AAARGH!" Jin suddenly screamed, as a noticeable, electric current surged through Jin's body. Genkoumaru noticed this, speechless at the actions that unfolded right in front of his eyes.

"HOLY SHIT, NOT AGAIN!!" Jin said, as the electric current flowed through his body, as Jin squirmed around on the ground, the pain unbearable. After a few more seconds, smoke started coming out of Jin's body. Genkoumaru then started grinning, as he realized one of the main weaknesses of Jin.

"I don't know how this happened to you, though I will not let it go to waste! Runt, I'm gonna be sure to make your next home… a cell in Impel Down!!" Genkoumaru thought to himself, as his train of thought was then followed by his trademark, maniac laughter. "SHIKAKAKAKA!"

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**I. Dentity Crisis (V)**

**A Punch Full of Friendship**

"What is happening with Jin?" Aven asked, her voice trailing weaker by every each word she pronounced, hoping Jin was alright. Although in the next second, her eyes became as open as possible, the shock taking over her: smoke was now even coming from Jin's body, whilst Chris just stayed quiet, as shocked as Aven.

"This… this isn't the first time I've seen Jin in this situation! Ever since I met him, I've seen him get shocked like this! Back when we fought Harry, and even before against that Lord of the Coast!" Chris thought to herself, as she remembered those multiple situations. "But I always thought it was nothing serious. This time, smoke is actually coming from his body.

"HEY CHRIS, LOOK!" Aven told Chris, who then looked at where she was pointing: Jin, now fallen on the ground, and still suffering from constant spasms, was holding on to his left leg, gripping his ankle, as if trying to sooth the pain.

"There's something definitely wrong with Jin…" Ave said.

"Wait… I REMEMBER!" Chris commented, as something came to her mind.

----------

_We can see a scene from back at Fuschia Village, where Chris and Jin had protected the little girl from the Lord of the Coast. Whilst the Lord of the Coast had taken its focus on Chris and the little girl, Jin had suffered from the surge of another electric shock. _

_Chris then took a quick glance at Jin. Sparks could still be seen around him and Jin seemed to have zoned out for a few seconds. After seeming to have taken a toll on reality again, he took a look at his left leg._

"_Hmm, that's odd…" Chris wondered, as she just raised an eyebrow at that, though she then had to focus on the incoming Lord of the Coast, which was nearing the two of them by the second._

----------

Chris then took a closer look at the battle. A grinning Genkoumaru had now placed on his weapon's blades on the ground. Spinning it on the ground, he ran in the direction of the fallen Jin, as the blade that kept in contact with ground was now spinning like crazy, cutting the wind that passed around it and forming more and more sparks by the second. Noticing the sparks, Chris and Aven understood what Genkoumaru's plan was.

"He's going to use the sparks around his weapon's blades to hit Jin!" Aven proclaimed, as Chris wondered.

"And judging by the fact that Jin is still squirming around, he may still be experiencing a few aftershocks!" Chris commented, whilst Aven nodded.

Aven just couldn't stand there, and watch as one of her future crewmates was closer than ever to death. She then stood up, surprising Chris, who had also the same idea as her. She then grinned, looking at Aven.

"We can't leave him for one second, now can we?" Aven asked, as Chris laughed a bit at Aven's remark, and nodded.

"Nope, we can't!" Chris said, as they both jumped from the top of the Library, landing right behind the running Genkoumaru (though Aven's injuries still prevented her from doing such a forced landing, so she had a little help from Chris).

Aven then proceeded on doing a few hand movements. At the hand, she did a very peculiar movement with her hands, where she raised her hands high up in the air.

"Element Tricks: FIRE!!" Aven yelled, as a long line of flames suddenly burst up in the middle of the path between Jin and Genkoumaru. Genkoumaru was then forced to stop, looking at the flames that blocked his path, and cursed his bad luck. He then turned around, noticing both Aven and Chris, and grinned.

"How did you do that? That was very cool!" Chris muttered to Aven, who smiled a bit.

"I already told you, it's my illusion powers! Only this time, I made it so that everyone can see them! I can create any kind of illusion!" Aven muttered back, as she focused her attention on their new opponent, Genkoumaru.

"SHIKAKAKA! Isn't this ironic? A dame and a runt protecting the Knight in shining armor!" Genkoumaru laughed, while Chris and Aven groaned.

"What dame, what runt and what knight in shining armor? We are perfectly capable of fending for ourselves! Just watch…" Chris said, as she ran straight in Genkoumaru's direction, unsheathing her Crescent Dagger, and slashing it across Genkoumaru's chest, but not being able to accomplish such a task, as he used the stick part of his weapon the block the dagger.

"What the hell? How can wood block the metal of my dagger?" Chris asked, while Genkoumaru pushed her away.

"That's easy, boy! The wood that was used on my weapon came from the Natura Kingdom in the Grand Line! This is the hardest wood in the world, and only a few metals can pierce through it!" Genkoumaru said, though as he randomly looked up at the sky, he noticed that dozens of swords were now hanging on the air, right above him.

"Weapon Tricks: Swords…" Aven muttered, as she now lowered her hands as rapidly as possible, making a rain of swords fall down on Genkoumaru's direction, who blocked them with his weapon or just danced around to avoid getting slashed and pierced by them. After no swords were left, he looked at Aven and smirked.

"Idiot kid! I do not know what kind of power you hold, but I'm sure it's a Devil Fruit power! Whatever it is, it won't be able to stop me, and believe me, once I'm through with all of you, you'll be worth much more than what you're worth now…" Genkoumaru muttered, as he now focused his attention on Chris; though he noticed she was nowhere to be found, as he looked from one place to another. "Now where the hell can that runt be..?"

"RIGHT HERE, YOU BASTARD!" Chris replied from up in the sky, as she was now her Dagger like brass knuckles. She then positioned herself in midair, though this time, she placed the hand of the dagger above her head, whilst her other hand grabbed the dagger's arm for support. She then placed her knees close to her chest, and started spinning through multiple, rapid front flips, whereas the edge of the Crescent Dagger worked as the sharp edge of a type of Frisbee. "AVOID THIS…

… CRESCENT DISC!!!"

"Too fast…" Genkoumaru muttered, as he was then violently struck by Chris's attack, the dagger's effect piercing from the middle of his chest down to the end of his belly, ripping a very nasty, deep cut, as practically rivers of blood dripped from his gigantic wound.

Chris then smirked, though she noticing something on Genkoumaru. He had been holding onto his torso, but his face was motionless, stuck in an array of fury. He then grabbed the middle of Belleza with both of his hands, and started spinning it around, clockwise. The stick spun around as fast as possible, and now the blades were spinning as they had never spun before, giving the impression that more than two blades were spinning, cutting the air so violently, that the fact Genkoumaru stood near them opened a few, small cuts on his arms and skin.

"I can't believe you kids made me use my most powerful technique… No worries, if you three kids think that spinning is your "unique" style of strong attacks, you're wrong… I've mastered the art of spinning weapons through this sole attack…" He then advanced towards Chris, who was too tired to move away, that last attack having taken a lot out of her.

"BELLEZA: AISLAMIENTO!!!" Genkoumaru's attack then passed through Chris, who remained still the entire time, while just covering her face. Suddenly, multiple cuts appeared all around her body, ripping through her clothes. All around her legs, arms, her torso, her neck and even cutting small bits of her hair. The blood she spilled was too much, even for a fighter like Chris, so she ended up fainting after a while due to blood loss.

(A/N: Belleza: Aislamiento = Beauty: Isolation)

"Now you…" Genkoumaru then ran towards Aven, who was also exhausted from the small battle she had taken a part of.

"Damn, it's been a very long while since I've battled like this… it takes too much concentration, I…" But looking at Jin's and Chris's unsconscious bodies made her think twice, as she, in the last minute, rolled out of the way. After doing a few more hand movements, she threw her hands at each side of her.

"Tricks: CLONES!!" Aven yelled, summoning forth what looked like hundreds of clones of her, which began surrounding Genkoumaru, who stood there, preparing himself.

"Nice try, kid! But I'll eventually find you!" Genkoumaru said, as he ran in a random direction, making sure to strike every clone with Aislamiento, as more and more clones began to disappear once they got struck. The thing is, what he was expecting was for the clones to retaliate. Aven's clones began punching him, while Genkoumaru effortlessly placed his spinning Belleza on one hand, and attempted to block incoming blows with the other.

"What the hell, so many…" One of the clones attempted to kick him from behind, but he jumped in the air, and kicked it himself, as it disappeared. More and more clones tried to hit him, though he performed a back flip and in one step, delivered yet another massive Aislamiento to the group of clones.

"Hey, wait a minute… I might be wrong, but…" Suddenly, he let himself get punched by one of the clones, though the punch just passed by him. He then smirked. "So it's illusions you control, huh? Very smart…" Genkoumaru muttered, as he saw another clone trying to hit him, as he remained still, waiting for the clone to strike. Only this time…

"UGH!!" The clone punched him with fierce force in his damaged, black spot caused by Jin earlier in the fight, sending him a few feet away. He noticed all the other clones disappearing, and understood that the "clone" that had punched him was none other than Aven herself. Aven, however, was more than exhausted; she was practically in the verge of breaking down. Genkoumaru, noticing his opponent's physical condition, smirked, and ran straight at her, ready to finish her off.

"IT ENDS NOW!!!"

"It's been a while since I've used my powers like this! Oh man, this is definitely not good!" Aven thought, as she still attempted to dodge the incoming attack, though Genkoumaru was too fast, and it was too late. "No… sorry… Jin… Chris, I…"

"BELLEZA: AISLAMIENTO!!!" Genkoumaru yelled, as the previous actions he had taken upon Chris had repeated on Aven, as his attack passed through Aven, and he remained with his back behind Aven, who remained motionless. Suddenly, multiple cuts spread around Aven's body, ripping around her clothes, appearing on her limbs, neck and also cutting small bits of her hair. She then also fainted from blood loss, whilst Genkoumaru smirked. His smirk soon turned into a loud laughter.

"SHIKAKAKAKA! A bunch of kids who like playing pirates thought that they could beat me! What a joke!" Genkoumaru commented, as he kept his weapon spinning. He then turned around to look for Jin, though to no avail. "Now where the hell is that other runt? Stupid, slippery kids…"

"I'm here, blondie…" Jin said, mockingly, as Genkoumaru turned around to find Jin looking straight at him, his figure looking like it could barely move. Genkoumaru chuckled at that.

"The nerve… Almost in the verge of dying, and still standing up for the final attack! I gotta give it to you, kid, it's the first time I've seen someone as endurable as you! Though it's time to finish you… The way you humiliated me is unforgivable…" Genkoumaru said, as he jumped in the air, his weapon spinning and ready for that same attack. "But don't worry! I'll be merciful; I'll make your death quick and painless by cutting it directly into your brain!!" He said, as he dove right in Jin's direction, a truly maniac, sadistic smile plastered on his face.

"BELLEZA: AISLAMIENTO!!!" Genkoumaru yelled, as he neared Jin by the second. Suddenly, using his last bit of strenght, Jin jumped, and using his toes, he clung into the stick part of the weapon, stopping the weapon's spinning motion, and sending it straight into the ground, leaving a straight fissure in its place, and breaking the blade out of the stick.

"NOO, BELLEZA!!" Genkoumaru screamed, as Jin could've sworn he had seen a few tears escaping his eyes. Shrugging it off, and taking advantage of Genkoumaru being pushed into the ground thanks to the grip he had taken on his weapon, Jin raised his elbow and his opponent went face-first against it, breaking his nose and rolling his eyes into the back of his head, jumping a few feet away from the impact of the collision.

"NOW HERE'S SOMETHING TO REMIND YOU OF THE DUDE OF TAUGHT YOU A LESSON ABOUT FRIENDSHIP…

… MIZU MIZU NO…." Jin's right arm then turned into water, but keeping the shape of an arm. Suddenly, it started rotating around itself, becoming a bit bigger than normal, giving the impression of a small tornado covered in water.

"… TATSUMAKI!!!!" Jin yelled, as he sent it colliding straight against Genkoumaru's face, automatically knocking him out; although it didn't stop there. Due to the rotation of his arm, Genkoumaru began spinning, as his head was the center of his body's rotation. He was then sent flying against a nearby building, crashing through the pillars, as the building collapsed on top of Genkoumaru, defeating him for good.

(A/N: Mizu Mizu no Tatsumaki = Water Waterspout)

Jin, knowing he had just defeated Genkoumaru, fell down on his knees, relieved that it was all finally over. Someone then came up to him, from behind. Jin turned around and saw that it was Harry, who smiled at him, handing him his ripped jacket. Returning the smile, Jin took his jacket, and ripped it to a few pieces of cloth, and he used them as bandages for his many bruises. Harry then picked up the unconscious Chris and Aven, and carried them in his shoulders.

"C'mon kid, let's get out of here! Once the Marines find Genkoumaru in the middle of all of this mess, believe me, he won't just get a light punishment!" Harry pointed out, as he told Jin that the buildings they had destroyed were part of Lilina Island's patrimony, and the Marines here weren't very light on this type of vandalism. "C'mon, I've got a friend in town! He'll help you patch up, you and the girls!" Harry said, as Jin nodded, but then he looked back at the Library. "What about the Librarian? She had been hiding Aven all this time from Marines and Bounty Hunters."

"Don't worry; I already took care of her! She told me she's going to a friend of hers to help her!" Harry said, as Jin began following Harry to his friend's home.

----------

"WAIT, HE'S YOUR FRIEND?!?" Jin asked, as Harry's "friend" was none other than Gary, the Chief Cook that Chris and Jin had met earlier that day. The three of them were now at his Restaurant, as Jin was all patched up, his bruises bandaged correctly.

"What, you didn't tell them?" Gary asked, while Harry just shrugged.

"I didn't feel like they needed to know…" Harry said, as he then turned to Jin. "From what I saw when I came to see you three, you had quite the battle against that Bounty Hunter!"

"Wait, how did you recognize that guy?" Jin asked.

"I had heard about him from Gary! Before trying to find you three, I decided to stop by to visit Gary, and he told he had came earlier when you and Chris were here! I feared the worst, so that's why I went to find you!" Harry explained, while Jin just nodded.

Chris and Aven then came from upstairs, already bandaged. Jin then saw them and smiled lazily, as he forcefully crossed his arms behind his head, slumping back into his seat. Noticing Jin's actions, Chris and Aven laughed, as Jin laughed along with them.

"Look, I'm not one to run from an Island, but by now, the Marines must've found Genkoumaru and he must've probably squealed on you three, so we better hurry out of this Island!" Jin and Chris nodded.

Jin then turned to Aven, and smiled as he said. "Well, all I can say now is, welcome aboard!" Aven said, as she smiled and randomly hugged Jin, who smiled.

----------

"Goodbye, you four! Don't get yourself into trouble… or more trouble than you already get yourselves into, anyway…" Gary said, as he waved goodbye at the boat that was now leaving the docks. In that boat were Harry, Jin, Chris and Aven, who also waved goodbye.

Aven, however, seemed a bit sad that her best friend hadn't come to see her. Looking up at the building where she had once attempted to save Jin from those five marines, she found Mary waving her goodbye, while Aven smiled as happily as possible, waving goodbye with more and more emotion.

As the boat left from the horizon, Gary turned around and walked into the town, passing by the building where the Librarian stood. He then stopped, and started to speak.

"Do you think it was a good idea letting Aven sail with Harry?" Gary asked, as the voice of the Librarian Mary answered his question.

"Well, Harry is prudent enough not to let anything happen to her… Besides, you do know who that other kid was, right?" Mary asked, while Gary nodded.

"Jin, as he called himself! Most precisely, Jinketsu Namura, Gray Beard's navigator… At least, when he still sailed… Something happened to him, I can feel it! Knowing him, he's probably alive somewhere… It takes more than a simple storm to crush him down…" Mary nodded, as they both went their separate ways.

"We'll see how things turn out…" the both of them thought, as the scene showed the cityline of Lilina Island, under the sunny sky.

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

IT'S OVER, FINALLY! Now that the arc is concluded, I can finally move on!

Anyways, you can send me OCs and other characters for me to use on the story, nut just crewmates. But all in all, I hope this was for your enjoyment. Review away!


	10. Off Music, Dance and Brawls I

"IT'S HERE KIDS, COME AND SEE IT!!" Came the voice of Harry from inside the ship's kitchen. Everybody then barged into the kitchen, closing around the table, fixating their sights on the newspaper that laid there. Jin then scattered the loose pages that stood on top of the newspaper around the table, for an easier inspection, and without a moment to spare, quickly understood what it was; in fact, everybody understood what it was…

"OUR BOUNTY POSTERS!!" Chris and Aven cheered, while Jin slapped himself on his forehead, as he grumbled something about "The bounty being a real pain in the ass from now on!".

Chris then excitedly picked up the Bounty Poster that had her name on it. It showed Chris wielding her Crescent Dagger, evilly smirking, back in her battle against Harry, as she stood in her battle stance. Her bounty value read 24.000.000 belli, at which Chris grinned. The poster had her name as followed: "Crescent Dagger" Chris Hopkins.

"This isn't a bad starting bounty! Not bad at all…" Chris commented, as she placed the poster on the table.

Aven then raised her Bounty Poster, which had her photo, though she looked a bit younger, as she had a fierce expression plastered on her face, while she seemed to be doing her hand movements, and noticed that her bounty value was 96.000.000 belli, which meant that they had added another million to her other value; the poster had her named as: "Devil's Illusionist" Aven I. Dentity.

Aven just sighed, as she also placed her poster back on the table, taking a seat.

Jin then picked up his Bounty Poster, and after taking a very quick glance, placed it back where it was. The poster had a photo of Jin, without his jacket, all bloodied but with a fierce and demonic face, from back in his battle against Genkoumaru. His bounty had the value of 26.000.000 belli, and Jin had been named as followed: "Waterfall" Jinketsu Namura. Jin sighed.

"Bakufu, Jinketsu Namura, huh? Well, could've been worse…" Jin commented, as he rose from his seat, heading to the ship's prow.

(A/N: Bakufu = Waterfall, in Japanese)

"What's gotten into him?" Chris asked, as she noticed Jin walking out of the kitchen. "What the hell did he expect, taking the life of a pirate?"

Harry then took a quick look at Jin, understanding the state he was currently in. Even though it somehow also confused him, due to his past connections AND even current ones. How he hadn't gained a bounty while under the service of Graybeard was something that still bugged him like no other, or it was as simple as keeping a low profie.

In the middle of that train of thoughts, he then took a quick look at the distant Jin, who was lying on his beach chair, seemingly contemplating the view… or maybe just fast asleep. He then took a new look at Aven, who had a small fire burning on the tip of her right index finger, practicing motion in which each time she snapped her fingers, a new fire would sprout randomly from one of her fingers. This, of course, was part of her illusion powers. And then, finally, he took a look at Chris, who was paying attention to Aven's actions with a look of sheer curiosity, as both engaged in a sudden conversation.

"_I can't let these three ending up getting captured… if they do get captured, things might get out of control! I need to help them…" _Harry pondered, as he looked back at the column of the newspaper. _"By all means necessary…"_

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**Off Music, Dance and Brawls (I)**

**The Cruise Ship**

Harry then gave a quick laugh at the newspaper's Headline. "Hey, check this out! Seems like the guy you beat to a pulp, Genkoumaru, the so-called "Greatest Bounty Hunter in the East Blue", ended up getting caught by the Marines, and charged with complicity in vandalizing activities!" Harry told them, all the while mocking the Bounty Hunter in question. "Seems like he escaped by assaulting five of the marines that captured him." Harry then noticed something between two of the sheets of the newspaper. Removing it, he noticed it was a Bounty poster, which had a photo of Genkoumaru, wielding his Belleza, in a battle stance from back in his fight against Jin. He had been named "Hunter" Genkoumaru, and the value of none other than…

"TEN MILLION BELLI?" Harry produced the loudest laughing sound the other three had ever heard, as Harry violently banged the table near him, leaving a few cracks after each thud. "TOO LOW FOR A DECENT PIRATE, AND TOO HIGH FOR A DECENT BOUNTY HUNTER!! AH, this guy is one unlucky bastard!" Harry commented, as he fixated his attention once again to his reading. "Seems like he squealed about you three… So THAT'S how you gained these bounties… Hmm…"

----------

"I don't understand!" Chris said, as plain and simple as that. Jin, who had been lying on his beach chair the whole time, lazily turned his head over to Chris for a slightly increased spawn on his focus. He then asked her.

"What can't you understand?"

"Why I became so… familiar with the people we met back at Lilina Island! For example, I don't normally introduce myself to people I hardly know using my full name." Chris told him, whilst Jin then lifted himself up, getting caught by the midst of their chat. "It's just not like me at all… Something's not right here…"

Jin the chuckled, which made Chris raise an eyebrow in sudden curiosity. "What's so funny?" She asked, as Jin kept that chuckling expression in his face before answering her. "You, trying to cover up the fact that you're a girl! I mean, sure you had a past and some issues, but there's no shame in it." Jin said, as a matter-of-factly.

Chris, after hearing Jin's speech, put up an innocent smile. "Well, okay then… thanks, I guess, but I'll tell you one thing: If you ever rant about my real name to anyone, OR even treat me by that name, I won't think twice about throwing you overboard, captain of the crew OR not…" All the while keeping that innocent smile of hers; Jin then laid back down on his beach chair with a disturbed expression glued to his face, as he raised his knees to his chest. Chris then laughed at Jin's actions, as she turned her gaze towards the sunset.

After what seemed like hours to her, she spotted something crossing through the horizon, going in their direction. Whatever it was, it possessed a size that was at least 20 times the size of their ship.

"What the…?"

----------

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU I CAN COOK, SO WILL YOU PLEASE GIVE ME SOME SPACE?" Aven replied, as she did several attempts to create some room between her and the chef-hat wearing Harry. Harry then grew a tick mark on his bald, ponytail head as he tried to take away the wooden spoon that Aven was using for her cooking.

"I'M THIS SHIP'S HOST, SO I INSIST ON COOKING, KID!" Harry said, as that last bit gave way for a comical chase around the kitchen, knocking the chairs and the table off, as anime-like tears escaped Aven's eyes, as her famous problem with men she barely knew kicked in.

"PLEASE, JUST LEAVE ME BE!!" Aven practically screamed, as both her and Harry suddenly slipped on one of the chairs. They then crashed against the kitchen's door, ending up next to the gazing Chris and Jin, who had just finished lifting himself up from the beach chair to look at the scenario before him. Harry and Aven then looked right in front of them, and noticed what was going on.

A gigantic ship, about the size of ten pirate ships sailed right beside them, standing on a white colored, majestic glory. It had several golden, surrounding stripes around the ship's waterline, and a few letters could be clearly seen: S. S. Kykanit. Jin, taking the role of Captain Obvious, replied: "It's a cruise ship…"

"No kidding, kid! To be a bit more precise, this is the S. S. Kykanit, the latest cruise ship designed in Water 7! It's strong enough to pass through the Calm Belts peacefully, plus its steel is hard enough to endure hits from Sea Kings." Harry stated, as the others stared in awe at the gigantic ship before them. Harry then chuckled. "Unfortunately, this is only for the high-class people!"

"AAW, but I wanted to go on a cruise ship…" Aven said, discouraged upon hearing the fact about the acceptance of only high-class people. Harry then laughed. "That doesn't mean that we can't go on it, kid!" Aven then lit up her expression, as a huge smile that practically took half of her face rose again, while Jin just sighed and smiled. He then turned to Harry.

"But we all got bounties, isn't it dangerous to go to such a place?" Jin asked, while Harry then left for a moment, walking into one of the rooms of the ship by opening a small, square door with a mini-lock. He then went down the small stairs. A few seconds later, he came out with different clothes, a grin plastered on his face.

"We can disguise ourselves! Besides, cruise ships always have the best buffets." Harry announced, as their stomachs growled in pain. Chris then gladly took her disguise, while the others started dressing up in whatever clothes they had.

----------

"Nice!" Chris exclaimed, noticing the clothes she had gotten dressed in: a black jacket, with a few details around the neck, brown silk pants and black boots. She still wore her cap, even though her disguise made her pass as a boy. The outfit she had on gave her the appearance of an emo musician.

"It's cool!" Jin replied, as he was dressed in a black hoodie, with a flat brim cap on his head, underneath the hood placed on his head, creating a shadow that covered his face. He still kept his blue, long jean shorts and his sandals, giving him the impression some sort of mixture between a rapper and a surfer.

"OH MY GOD, I LOVE IT!!" Aven happily exclaimed, as she was dressed in pink/brown khakis, white/pink sneakers and a red/green/yellow, sleeveless shirt, giving her an impression of a reggae musician. Aven, noticing the other two also had the feel of musicians, turned to Harry, who was now wearing a simple white jacket that covered his usually naked torso, and sunglasses while also putting on a white cap with a hole behind, letting his bizarre ponytail loose. "Why are we disguised as musicians?" Aven asked.

"Because most people that go there are either royal, rich people or simply famous artists! In our case, it's easier to blend in with the musicians… That, AND because these were the few clothes I at my disposal." Harry then went to the ship's steering wheel, and moved it to far left, so the ship was now sailing right behind the cruise ship. He then took out a chain that was hooked to the ship's prow, and after taking a few swings, threw it on one of the cruise ship's decorative pillar. Harry chuckled at his work.

"This way, we won't get separated from our ship, and all of us can go and have a good time..."

"But what if are thrown into a storm or something…?" Jin asked, to which Harry just paused. "OH C'MON, DON'T RUIN MY FUN BEFORE IT EVEN STARTS!!" Harry yelled at Jin in that comical shark face.

"Well then, hold on guys!" Jin said, as they each grabbed Jin's arms tightly. Suddenly, his feet started violently sending jets after jets of water, raising them highly in the air. Shot like a rocket, after a few seconds they landed on the safe, wooden floor of the ship. After looking around, they suddenly heard a few noises, a bit of a commotion from one of the doors that led to the other rooms of the ship.

"Hmm, I wonder what's happening…" Jin wondered, as he opened the door to find a huge room, with a wide number of seats. In those seats were sitting people that perfectly fit into the snob, rich, high-class stereotype. Into the other side of the room had been built a stage, with the brownish yellow floor and red curtains, entirely for the artist's purpose to act and display its skills. Jin whistled at the majestic sight of the stage, as the four of them sneaked into the room, taking the nearest empty seats they could find.

Aven's stomach then returned to its hungry growls, as she rubbed her stomach, sighing. "When will we hit the buffet like you said? I'm hungry, you should've had let me cook dinner!" Aven replied, while Harry sighed. He then grinned, while ruffling Aven's hair.

"Don't worry kid, it'll soon be over and we'll cleanse our hunger!" Harry said, as his honest smile somehow managed to deliver relief to the starving Aven, who smiled back at him, randomly hugging him. Jin and Chris looked at Aven, and were relieved to know she was adapting well. Chris, especially at the moment, knew exactly what it was like leaving her roots behind to get on the boat of adventure… literally.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen please welcome the star of the night: NORIKO RYOUSHI!!" One of the announcers said, standing in the stage with a tuxedo on. He then walked out of the stage, giving room for the artist that had stepped from behind the red curtain, receiving a wide variety of applauses from the whole crowd. Jin then turned to Chris. "Whoever it is must be pretty good to receive such an ovation from these bunches of snobs!" Chris then laughed at Jin's remark, as they looked back at the stage, now taking notice of who the artist was.

This Noriko was a black-haired girl with her hair styled in a big Chinese bun on each side or pig-tailed. The buns were capped on a beige-colored hair cap with a red ribbon or the pig-tails were surrounded by red ribbons. Wearing a black hold-up hosiery, a brown with gold lining modern-style qipao (with a puff-up shoulders, ribbon on the neck, a small gold underbust corset, wristband) and stilettos. She bowed to the crowd before picking up a violin. She then played it with a serene harmony, the melody cleansing even the coldest of hearts.

The four pirates disguised in the middle of royalty heard it with their complete attention fixated. Jin then grinned, as he looked at the other three and stated.

"Well guys, if I'm truly gonna make a pirate crew of mine then I already know where to find my musician!" Jin said, never letting his grin fade away, as Chris sighed, Harry chuckled and Aven gave out a loud "YAY!!".

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

Sorry for such a short chapter peeps, but I'm setting it up for the next chapter.

SO, a possible crewmate? And wow, aren't our heroes lucky to have gotten into a cruise ship? Who knows what might happen? Stay tuned for the next chapter, but until then I leave you with this. REVIEW AWAY!!


	11. Off Music, Dance and Brawls II

"Wow... Just wow..." Jin watched in awe as this Noriko girl, with the simple harmonious tune of her violin calmed the whole crowd, sending them into some kind of zen state. Looking around, he noticed that even his friends were quiet, as well as the hyperactive Aven, listening to the marvelous song that was being played.

On the stage, Noriko suddenly sped up the tune, giving out some joyful dancing steps as the crowd cheered on and on, becoming a Dancing Festival around the many seats, as people danced to the tune happily.

"THIS IS AWESOME!!" Jin exclaimed, as they danced and bumped into each other, in between laughs and giggles, as Harry danced around violently, his bulky physique being enough to knock off a few seats around him, whilst the hyperactive Aven just jumped, danced and laughed hysterically, getting into the groove of the music. Chris did the best she could to follow the flow without giving off any feminine hints, whilst Jin just slowly moved his body, a bit lazily after a few minutes of joyful dancing.

"Hell, anyone who can even make these rich snobs loosen up is surely a master musician!!" Chris commented, as she occasionally pick-pocketed any distracted person near her, but never breaking her dancing stances.

The music seemed eternal in their ears. It was nothing like they had ever heard before. Maybe it was just the catchy symphony, or the joyful aura that irradiated from the artist, but something triggered them to just, for once in a lifetime, dance their hearts out along the flavor of the song.

"BANG!!" A gunshot was fired out of a sudden, silencing everyone that had been dancing. As everyone turned to see where the gunshot had came from, they looked up at the highest seats to find none other than the sight of a woman with a very disgusted face.

"What the hell??" Harry asked silently, as Jin, Chris and Aven watched the woman that had been seemingly watching this concert of many artists and that fired a gunshot to silence the audience and the artist now rose from his seat, whilst the crowd went silent and sat back on their seats.

The woman in question was overweight with a splash of freckles on her face, thick lips and short black hair. Her eyes seemed semi-closed, though that was due to the fatness around her cheeks and cheekbones. She was dressed in a formal black dress and red high heels, plus she was holding a yellow pistol with the smoking barrel of a recently fired bullet. Six men dressed in black jackets and coats stood on each side of her, possibly her bodyguards. She began looking around the seats beneath her, searching for possible insolent commoners.

Harry then quickly sat back on his seat, shoving a hand in front of the very angry Aven, outraged by the actions of that snob, rich woman, forcefully sitting her back down. "Damn it kid, be quiet! Now's not the time!!"

Knowing of Aven's very hyperactive and risky personality, he wasted no time in taking care of her first. As Aven slowly calmed herself down, Harry sighed, though upon a second inspection, his heart almost fell to his feet as he saw that both Jin and Chris still hadn't sat back down; they were still looking with ease at the imposing woman, Chris with an infuriated expression and Jin with a lazy, though venomous expression, or in other words, his usual expression when confronted with something he's not used to, though doesn't approve, none the less.

Before the woman could notice that Jin and Chris were the only ones standing, aside from the very disbelieving Noriko, he quickly pulled them back on their seats, as they looked at him with questioning glances.

"You kids just stay still, we can't become center of attentions right now!" Harry told them.

Offering them an assuring look, Jin and Chris gave up and pretended like nothing had happened, just like the rest of the audience did.

They could hear the sound of the disgusted grunts made by the pistol-wielding female above the audience's seats. Guarding her golden weapon, the woman cleared her throat before speaking up.

"I'll be DAMNED if I or anyone in my surroundings ever cheer along the songs of savages like you, gypsy!" the woman stated, loud and clear, noticeably drilling a hole in Noriko who looked at her with rage and disbelief. Chuckling, the woman went on with her speech. "Now do me and everyone else a favor and step out of the stage! Such a glorious field for the true artists has no place for savages like you! SCRAM!" The woman said, laughing at Noriko, who just grabbed her violin and stepped out of the stage, in complete anger. Somehow, disappointment could still be felt from her.

Minutes passed as the following artists played their songs, being applauded by the audience and cheered on by some. Though even a lazy minded person like Jin could notice that only Noriko was the one that had been able to break the tension and boredom from the crowd; she was the one that had been able to break them out of their monotonous nature and overthrow them into a relaxing and fun-loving mood.

He had decided. In fact, ever since he saw her play her violin and toying with everyone's moods, from boring, to harmonious and to completely wild that he had already decided. He was going to get her to join him, Chris, Aven and Harry. He then left his seat and exited out of that music-filled room into the outside. After throwing each other approving nods, Chris, Aven and Harry also left the room, following Jin.

What they didn't know was that the woman in question had been watching them the entire time. Chuckling, she looked away from the empty seats that once belonged to Jin and his comrades and directed her attention back to the musician currently playing a piano solo.

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**Off Music, Dance and Brawls (II)**

**The Starving Artist Noriko! Enter the Kenizuma Family.**

It was night already, and on the open sky could be reflected the contrast between its immense darkness and the glowing stars. One person in particular was watching it from the cruise liner's prow, sitting in a beach chair while hugging her arms to her chest.

"Oh, you like beach chairs too?" She heard it from someone coming up behind her. Turning around abruptly, she watched as Jin sat right beside her on another beach chair, laying down on it, as he crossed his arms behind his head, breathing deeply in and out. After a few seconds of silence, he lazily looked at her with a small smile.

"I liked your song!" Jin stated, while Noriko looked at him questioningly, though she ended up offering him a very friendly smile.

"I'm Noriko Ryoushi!" Noriko said in a very jovial tone, a personality that placed Jin at ease. Smiling, he replied.

"I'm Jinketsu Namura! But call me Jin, for short!" Jin replied.

"Ok then, Jin for short!" Noriko said, as they both shared a hearty laugh at Noriko's short joke. Harry, Aven and Chris soon joined the three, as Chris smirked.

"You two are already getting friendly, am I right?" Chris asked, whilst Noriko nodded and Jin just laid back, being too lazy to even answer Chris's question. Chris then sweat-dropped at Jin's lack of answer.

The next moment, Jin had a smoking bump on his head, as he laid unconscious next to his beach chair with a very ticked Chris. "You can never be too lazy to answer your comrade's questions!" Chris commented, possessing the comical tick mark on her head. Laughing, Noriko picked up her violin and started playing a tune that completely fit what had just happened, getting fits of laughter from Harry and Aven.

"I'm Harry Hanford!"

"I'm Chris, just Chris!" Chris said, this time making sure that she wouldn't mindlessly blurt out any details about her like last time in Lilina Island.

"AND I'M AVEN I. DENTITY!!!" Aven hysterically complained in her very hyper mood, sending Noriko into another jolt of fast-paced violin tunes that only encouraged Aven's antics.

----------

"She's one of the members of the Kenizuma Family!" Harry told them, as they remained silent. "That woman is none other than Nera Kenizuma, an overgrown spoiled brat! She's also the granddaughter of the Leader of the Kenizuma Family!"

(A/N: Nera = Black, in Italian)

"But what's the Kenizuma Family? What are they?" Jin asked, receiving a gasp from Aven. Turning to her, he noticed a shocked expression plastered on her face.

"You've never heard of the Kenizuma Crime Family? Where have you been all this time?" Aven asked, while Jin just shrugged. Aven then decided to inform Jin about the topic at hand, acting as if it were some sort of lecture. "The Kenizuma Family is a Criminal Organization famous for its many crimes committed all around the Blues! They appeared right after the execution of the second Pirate King, though many believe that they had been planning things before he was executed. They acted almost at the same time as the events of the Devil's Massacre, picking the leftovers from thorn islands."

"I'm pretty sure that the Marines must be going after them… Since they go after us Pirates, you know…" Chris commented, though Harry shook his head.

"Actually, no they aren't!" Harry said, forcing Chris to raise an eyebrow.

"Why aren't they?"

"No one knows! Last year they've committed a total of 1000 crimes all around the Blues, and not one Wanted poster for any members of the Kenizuma Family has been released yet!" Harry stated.

"Well, it has been rumored that the Kenizuma Family has been financing some of the World Government's most expensive experiments!" Aven replied, while Harry nodded.

"It's very probable that that's the true reason behind this! Being untouched by the Government does give them a severely upper hand!" Harry commented, as he pondered on the subject. "Though the World Government is the richest faction in the World, you know. Why would they need some Criminal Organization to finance them?"

"Maybe it's a bribe!" Noriko replied, as the other four looked at her, for a moment almost forgetting she was there. Slowly letting the new possibility sink in, Harry nodded. "Maybe… Actually, that is probably the whole truth behind all of this!" Harry commented.

Suddenly, someone stepped up to them from behind. Clearing her throat, the so-called Nera Kenizuma brought the five's attention to her, smiling widely, spreading apart the chunky spots around her cheeks.

"And who might you four be? I don't remember seeing any of you in these past nights!" Nera commented at them, as the five of them turned around to face her.

Quickly coming up with a cover-story, Noriko spoke up. "They were with me. They were only planning to play tomorrow night." Noriko said, while Nera just grunted and didn't even bother to look at Noriko.

"Fine then. Be sure to put up a decent show, then!" Nera told them, as she left them alone in the deck.

Growling angrily, Chris had been gripping the handle of the Crescent Dagger. "Did you see that ugly whale? She didn't even bother looking at you!!" Chris said, turning to Noriko who just shrugged. "Do not waste your energy on people like her! It's not worth the time!" Noriko said, picking up her violin and initiating a very sad song. "Like the leaves that fall from the trees in autumn, I too am sometimes forced to fall back silently."

Sighing, Jin turned to his right on the beach chair. "Well, you did put us on quite the mess there, Noriko!" Jin commented, forcing her to look at him with unease.

"What do you mean, Jin?" Noriko asked.

"Well, now we have to play tomorrow at that stage you played, and none of us can play instruments, besides NOT having any instruments!" Jin said, as he lazily turned to his left, only to be greeted by a violent, yet comical jab to his head, courtesy of Chris, smashing the beach chair to pieces.

"BAKA! If it hadn't been for her, our cover could've been blown, so at least be grateful for that!" Chris replied, in that comical shark face, as Jin's flat-brim cap, instead of being on his head was now hanging from a big, freshly-made steaming bump.

"And plus, I do have a few instruments back at my ship! I'll go get them right now!"

Laughing at the scene before her, Noriko changed the pace and emotion of her violin song, this time to a more pleasant and happier one.

----------

"This is going to be pure crap. We all suck at this." Jin commented, looking at the instruments that Harry brought from his ship: a guitar, a bass and drums.

"Well, we can't think so negatively about something we haven't tried out yet, am I right Jin?" Chris asked, grinning. Jin was then seen in the background, with a second steaming bump parallel to his first one, hanging his cap in between, presumably provoked by Chris. Nodding slowly, Jin could only drop back, falling down on one of the beds of the room.

Harry, Chris, Jin and Aven were now staying in Noriko's room, taking the chance that no one saw them entering. The room wasn't big, but it wasn't small either, and it had at least eight beds. Harry picked up the drums, and gripping the drumsticks he attempted to perform a solo… only to break the drumsticks and part of the drums' supports along the way, sending Aven into an hysterical fit of laughter, Noriko into a small chuckle, followed by a new violin melody and Chris into a frustrated growl.

"See? I told you so!" Jin replied.

Violently turning to Jin, Chris answered: "YOU'RE NOT HELPING AT ALL!!!"

"Look, we haven't even discussed what instruments we'll be playing!" Jin said, trying to sound as reasonable as possible, though his speech was soon broken by a very loud and, somehow, melodic sound a guitar solo. Turning to the source of the sound, he found Aven furiously playing the guitar, using her trademark hyper activeness to move her fingers as randomly and fast as possible.

Once she stopped, she noticed everyone looking and smiled widely. Daring to ask, Chris decided to speak up. "Do… do you even remember the solo you just played?"

"No!" Aven simply replied, as the others comically sweat dropped.

"Since Harry here is already getting… in touch with the drums…" She paused to look at Harry who effortlessly tried to glue the broken drumsticks and supports back to their original state, only to fail miserably. "… And Aven has some kind of hidden talent for the guiter…" Aven was no ready to smash her guitar like a true rockstar, only to rapidly and comically stopped by a VERY frustrated Harry. "DON'T BREAK THE GUITAR, IT'S MY ONLY ONE!!" Harry said.

"BUT I'M PRACTICING FOR MY ROCKSTAR PRESENTATION TOMORROW!!" All of this ending up in a similar chase between Aven and Harry around Noriko's room, prompting her to start a violin tune that always suited a chasing scene. Chris then turned to her, half grinning, half confused.

"Sorry, but do you ALWAYS have to play a melody for each thing that happens?" Chris asked, while Noriko just laughed at her, enigmatically replying to her.

"Does a bird need its two wings to fly?" Noriko stated, leaving Chris as confused as she was before. "But moving on, it seems we'll have to decide if it's you or Jin who'll play the bass!"

Turning to Jin, and giving him a familiar glance, Jin opened his eyes widely, that glance causing him to remember their "chat" about being thrown overboard if he ever found himself in a situation where he couldn't bite his tongue. Assuming Chris wouldn't be able to fake her feminine voice while singing, he raised his hand, receiving Noriko's attention.

"I don't mind singing. There's nothing to it, really…" Jin commented, turning the other way on his bed, falling fast asleep.

Sweat dropping, Noriko turned to Chris. "I guess you'll be the one playing the bass then, Chris!" Noriko said, while Chris nodded.

Sighing, Noriko grinned as she promptly proclaimed: "I guess I'll be the one teaching you how to play, from now on!!"

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

It's over. I'm sorry if it's still a bit short, but hey, sometimes it's difficult to carry on more details into a chapter that was only meant to show very little details.

Until then, people, read and review!


	12. Off Music, Dance and Brawls III

"_Why... Why did it happen?" Noriko's voice travelled like an echo through the empty void that was the surroundings._

_A younger Noriko, next to her mother and father, a female gypsy dancer and a male bard respectively, was sleeping in a carriage. Slowly and slightly opening her eyes, she quickly took notice of her surroundings and smiled as she saw her parents hugging each other. Grinning, she snuck up between the two of them, gathering their warm smiles, as she cuddled up between the two, going back to sleep, as the carriage kept its voyage through the starry night._

"_ARGH, I CAN'T GET IT RIGHT!" The young Noriko exclaimed, as she practiced a few notes on her violin, though you couldn't exactly call her a pro. Outside of the carriage that she was currently practicing in, you could see her other friends playing or others around a campfire singing a few songs and having lunch._

_Sighing, she attempted to play her note one last time. Suddenly, her father burst into the carriage, scaring her. The thing was, she accidentally passed the stick through the cords, releasing a high-pitched note that had a very melodic feel to it, like an ecstatic and surprised mood of music. Smiling, her father picked her up and cheerfully brought her to the campfire, where her mother was dancing and playing her violin at the same time. At the sight of that, Noriko could only smile at her mother's performance, as she imagined herself dancing and playing the violin as good as her mother._

"_Mommy is the GREATEST dancer and musician in the world, isn't she daddy?" Noriko happily exclaimed with a gleam in her smile, as her father laughed._

"_She definitely is, Noriko!" Noriko's father answered, as he sat back on the ground, with the young Noriko on his lap. "She sure is…"_

"_You know what, daddy, when I grow up, I'm gonna' be JUST like her!!" Noriko stated, bringing an even bigger smile to her father's face. However, he soon placed Noriko on the ground and went to join his wife while playing an instrument of his own._

"_C'mon Noriko, do not underestimate my bard's pride!" He replied, as Noriko laughed and joined in the feast that was watching her parents dance and play as happy as ever around the campfire._

_----------_

"_C'MON FELLAS, LET'S THRASH THIS PLACE! KILL ALL MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN! SPARE NO ONE AND LEAVE NOTHING BEHIND!!" The voices of dozens of pirates drowned the carriages, as they were plundered and broken apart. All the families that were travelling in those carriages ended up getting killed._

"_NO DADDY, I DON'T WANT TO!" Noriko exclaimed, struggling for freedom, but her father could only strap her with her violin and a Sabre so she could hopefully defend herself from any possible enemies._

"_RUN AWAY, PLEASE! WE MAY DIE, BUT I KNOW ONE DAY YOU'LL BECOME THE GREATEST DANCER AND MUSICIAN IN THE WHOLE WORLD!" Her father said, as Noriko watched her father getting caught by the pirates, and killed right in front of her. Right after that, she watched as her mother struggled in vain, as she too met her fate. By that time, she was already several feet away from the camp._

"_MOTHER! FATHER!" Noriko screamed, with complete and utter anguish, as tears escaped her eyes._

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**Off Music, Dance and Brawls (III)**

**The Concert of a lifetime! YOU ARE OUR NAKAMA!!**

"Kid, KID WAKE UP!" Harry's voice forced Noriko out of her sleep, as she slowly woke up, noticing she was in her room. Looking up, she saw a worried Harry looking directly into her eyes, trying to sense any kind of reasons that would keep him alarmed. However, Noriko simply smiled at him, as he sighed in relief. Throwing away her blankets, she stood up, looking around the room to notice that the two of them were the only ones there.

"The others are already in the ship's Restaurant. I just got back from there. I noticed you missed breakfast, so I came to call you to eat something." Harry told her, watching as disbelief spread in her face. She then decided to ask Harry a simple question.

"What time is it?"

"It's ten past eleven, kid. You fell asleep around 5 am, when we finished practicing. I gotta' say, it's the first time I've seen someone teach others how to play several instruments, and have them decently playing them in such short time." Harry commented. "How did you do it?"

Noriko chuckled, as she picked up her violin and began giving off another notorious tune that capably fit into her current mood. "It's all about understanding the music! Anyone can manipulate music like they want, they just need to find a way to understand it. For example, because you can seemingly channel your strenght the way you wish, you brought out those amazing drum tunes. Aven, however, being as hyper' as she is..." Her violin pace sped up, as she kept up her lecture. "... Managed to bring out those astounding riffs from the guitar. Chris, however, as casual as she is, fits into the bass perfectly."

The violin tunes suddenly paused, as she raised her head to Harry, who stood there listening to her. "Jin, however... He did nothing. I can't understand that guy. He chose to sing, and yet, he didn't even attempt to practise along with you three. WHile you three practised that song I proposed to you, AND one which Jin told us he wanted to sing..." Suddenly, the tunes became darker and darker. "... But he just said he'd try to remember the lyrics, and did NOTHING! He just fell asleep. I don't understand that guy."

At that latter bit of her rant, Harry couldn't help but let a confusing laughter escape his lips. "Ay kid, no one can understand that kid, either. Though I think he's more than what meets the eye." Harry replied, whilst Noriko nodded and ended her violin solo, putting the instrument away.

As the two of them walked out of the room, Nera Kenizuma saw them through the security cameras, a grin spreading on her thich lips, as she laid back in a red leather chair, in some sort of Control Room. She was sitting in front of dozens of screens, all giving off the images recorded in real-time by the many security cameras spread around the cruise liner.

"Very cute... Now you will feel the weight of power that the Kenizuma Family holds." Nero spoke to herself, laughing maniacally.

----------

"There you are!" Chris said, noticing Harry and Noriko arriving at their table. The five of them were in the ship's Restaurant, enjoying breakfast... Or at least what was left of it. Surprisingly, Jin had practically eaten the most of it, excusing himself with the arguement of "Losing a lot of energy from his fight against Genkoumaru!". Chris just sighed, mumbling something about "Losing a lot of energy by sleeping all day.", as she turned to Noriko, who had served herself with some orange juice and pancakes.

"By the way Noriko, thanks for the awesome music lessons you gave us! I'm really getting the hang of it!" Chris said, as she picked up her bass and played with the cords, releasing some nice and slow sounds. Jin then rose from his seat, forcing Chris to raise an eyebrow. "What are you planning on doing now?"

Not even bothering to give her an answer, Jin walked around the table until he reached the opposite end: Noriko's seat. Noticing Jin getting closer to her, she dropped her glass of juice to take notice of his actions. He inched closer and closer to her face, which made her blush. Aven suddenly stopped her antics, and paid close attention to what was going on. Drama filled the air, as few drops of sweat slowly fell from Harry's head.

Once he got extremely close to her, practically milimeters from her ear, he whispered. "Don't worry, I won't let your efforts go down the drain." He then silently walked away, probably off to the beach chair near the pool, on the deck of the cruise ship.

Aven then squeeled in very hyper' delight, as she practically ran a marathon towards Noriko, sitting very closely to her, and asking her all the details of what Jin had told her, to which Noriko wans't sure how to answer, for she wasn't even sure of what he meant. Chris then decided not to miss out on the "girl talk", while maintaining her masculine posse she decided to sit closer to the two other girls.

"Pfft, women..." Harry commented, silently to himself.

However, it didn't go unnoticed by the musician and the illusionist. "What was that?" They both asked, in diabolical expressions, to which Harry nervously answered back, faking up an innocent smile the best he could, contrasting his very rough attitude.

"N-Nothing! You know what, I'm going for a walk!" Harry said, also exiting the Restaurant, leaving the three girls (but keeping in mind that Chris was still disguised as boy) to their chat.

----------

"Ah, this is the life." Jin commented, as parts of his body were kept incased in water, keeping him as fresh as possible while taking his sunbaths near the pool. The water-encased zones of his body reflected with the sunlight, producing a very beautiful glimmer. His many attempts to drift off into a very sleepy slumber proved to be futile, as the lyrics of the song he was supposed to sing that night weren't still there.

"How did it start again? I remember Chris, Aven and Harry playing it last night, I know its instrumentals... But I can't remember the lyrics..." Jin slowly closed his eyes, as he tried the best he could to remember the song's lyrics. "I think it started with something like... _Distant waves crashing on distant sand..._"

_As the ships sail, hand in hand_

_The wind blows soft, we cross the line_

_On a sunny day, or a starry night_

_The drinks on the deck, oh fellow pirate man_

_The scene all around changed to a room, where the figure of a teenage girl, probably around Jin's age, could be seen singing that same song with those same lyrics. Next to her was a much younger Jin, listening to the young woman's singing, lying on his bed, smiling._

_"Hey, will you always sing this song to me?" The young Jin asked, to which the teenage girl grinned, turning to him._

_"Of course I will, Jin!" She replied, as she restarted her singing from where she had left off. "Distant waves crashing on distant sand_

_As the ships sail by, hand in hand_

_The wind blows soft, we cross the line_

_On a sunny day, or a starry night_

_The drinks on the deck, oh fellow pirate men_

_We all are..._

"... Rum's best friend!" Jin said, now back to reality as he opened his eyes. He had finally managed to remember the lyrics. Somehow, he sat up on the beach chair, now wondering about something. This sudden memory he had. He had no memory of such an event occuring to him, but at the same time, it felt so real and clear to him. It was actually meaningful to him, and it somehow managed to bring a happy smile to his face, even though he himself wasn't sure that it was real.

"Maybe... Maybe it is real. I did lose my memory, and maybe I'm slowly regaining it..." Jin then looked up, rejoycing that long lost memory once more, as seconds later, his expression faded into dullness. "GOD, I'm so tired." Jin proclaimed, as if it was imperative for him to take LONG naps every few times a day, and so, he made up these excuses.

----------

"They will never see what came!" Nera Kenizuma commented to one of her bodyguards, laughing diabolically. It were those particular actions that brought Harry's attention. He had been gone to their room to practice a bit before the concert when he found Nera laughing along with her bodyguards. Curiously, her room was only three rooms away from theirs. Harry took peek in the room, between the wall, and the door that remained semi-shut.

"What is this fat witch laughing about? Who's "they"?" Harry pondered, as he tried to hear more of her plot. Unfortanetly, Nera was now walking towards the door, as Harry, in a hurry, quickly used his Fruit powers to transform into his Pig hybrid, disguising himself. Once Nera walked out of the room, she took a look at the pig next to her, and throwing a disgusted face, she kicked it against the wall, making it squeal in pain.

"GOD, who was the slob that brought a pig into the cruise?" Nera commented, as she walked right past it, with her bodyguards following right behind her.

Once the coast was clear, Harry returned to his human form, as he rubbed his ribs in pain, huffing a bit. "Geez, for a woman that moves that slow, she carries quite the kick." Harry stated to himself, as he lifted himself up and quickly rushed to find the others. "I got to find them. They need to know about this!"

He passed by the corridors of the rooms, as he came up to a large staircase. Rushing to find the others, he sometimes stumbled on the steps or bumped other people, rapidly apologizing but never once looking back or slowing his step.

----------

"You really think so?" Jin asked, as Jin tried to regain his breath once again. He wasn't the most resistant man in the world, and all of that running surely took out a lot from him.

Finally recomposing himself, he once again looked at the Jin, who had remained on the beach chair. Looking around, making sure that nobody heard them, as at that time of the morning, many people were already filling the majestic pool, he redirected his attention back to Jin, placing his hand close to his mouth, as if whispering. "Yes, it's true! Her room is very close to ours, and once I passed by it, I heard her plotting something. I'm sure it's gotta be against us!" Harry stated.

Jin still looked skeptical. "How can you be so sure that that Nera woman was talking about us? She IS from a Criminal Organization, as you and Aven said. She could be plotting against anyone."

"Of course, but figure this out: she has been recently messing with Noriko, hasn't she? And seeing that last night, she spotted us talking to Noriko like we were friends, there's still a huge probability that it's us that she's..."

"Look Harry, take it easy, ok? We came here to relax, and even though that it's a huge probability, it's still nothing but a probability." Trying to find a new position in his beach chair, he sloppily finished his speech. "And if by any chance it's indeed us that she's plotting against, we'll just kick her ass and whoever's ass works for her, anyways. There's nothing to it."

Shaking his head, Harry walked away from Jin. "How can you be so close-minded, kid? I got to find the girls, they'll probably know what to do..." Harry muttered, as he once again ventured out of the cruise liner's deck, and into the galleries on the inside.

----------

"Don't be so paranoid, Harry!" Aven told him, as she was sitting next to Chris, both still keeping up their conversation.

They were on one of the ship's compartments, which resembled an Art Gallery. Chris and Aven were sitting on one of the benches spread out through the large corridors. The walls were embebbed with different works of art, from framed pictures to different types of sculptures. Other sculptures resembled either mythological creatures, or even famous people. Curiously, the three of them were right next to a sculpture of former Fleet Admiral, Sengoku. The sculpture in itself seemed to be actually looking down at them.

"Why doesn't anyone believe me? She's a gangster, for God's sake, and noticing people befriending someone she despises would automatically make those people her enemies, as well!" Harry began, trying to fit some reason into the girls.

Apparently, not even they were rationalizing the whole situation like he was. "C'mon Harry, give us a break."

Harry, however, didn't even give the girls time to explain themselves, as he hurried off to warn the last one of their little group: Noriko. Suddenly stopped, and in an attempt not to go around in circles looking for the unusual musician, Harry turned back to the girls.

"Do you have any idea where Noriko is?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, she went to the bathroom. It's down at the hall, once you leave this Gallery." Chris answered, though she suddenly chnaged her mood, as she saw Harry leaving. "HEY, where do you think you're going?"

"Saving Noriko! We can't leave her alone like this, especially after what happened yesterday!" Harry replied, as he walked out of the Gallery they were in.

Glancing at each other, they both nodded as they followed Harry.

----------

Harry finally reached the women's bathroom. Someone then walked out of the bathroom, and to both Harry's surprise and disgust, it was none other than Nera Kenizuma, the feared criminal, now walking with her bodyguards behind her. Harry passed right by her, throwing her a glance, which was innocently answered by Nera's own glance, as she kept smiling. Harry abruptally opened the women's bathroom, only to find Noriko looking at the mirror, expressionessly.

"What did that fat witch tell you, kid? You've gotta tell me!" Harry replied, though suddenly Noriko, who seemed to have fazed back to reality, looked at Harry in a bit of a shock.

"Huh, she didn't tell me anything. She acted like she didn't even see me." Noriko said, to a bit of harry's relief. Even though that could have been true, it still didn't stop bothering Harry. "And why are you on the lady's bathroom?"

"Because I was worried about..."

"Because he's being extremely paranoid about this whole Nera issue!" Chris answered for Harry, cutting off his speech. "Look, I don't know what's wrong with you, Harry, but you're not putting us at ease. We have a concert tonight, and you should just relax!" Chris continued, as Harry finally had enough.

He violently turned around, opened the door, and before he stepped out of that bathroom, he looked at the three. "Fine, have it your way. But once something happens, don't say that I didn't warn you!" And with that, he left.

Suddenly, from the outside, a woman could be heard screaming in outrage. "YOU PERVERT! HOW DO YOU DARE TO PEEP ONTO THE LADY'S BATHROOM?"

"IT'S NOT LIKE YOU THINK, MISS, I..." Harry then got comically punched away, as the sound of a loud thud could be heard from afar, as the three girls stood there, watching as a woman dressed in a pink outfit walked in.

Before the woman walked into the bathroom, Chris quickly removed her hat, letting loose her hair. Once the woman retrieved into one of the sealed toilets, Chris placed back her hat, not even being noticed by Noriko, who seemed to be once again looking at nothing, her expression turning to a sad one.

"Men these days are such PIGS!" The woman exclaimed from the toilet, making Chris chuckle a bit at the unintentional pun.

Far away from that compartment, Jin past right by an unconscious Harry. Jin looked briefly at his fallen comrade, as he muttered something. "I guess that the girls didn't listen to him, either... and they seemingly have a shorter temper than mine." With that said, he walked into a nearby room, which happened to be the Restaurant. "Lunch time! Time to attack the buffet."

----------

"Ok guys, let's go!" The five of them were backstage, right behind the red curtain of the Spectacle Room's stage. Their instruments were in place, as Chris was constantly asking Jin the same thing, much to his annoyance.

"Now are you POSITIVELY SURE that you remember the lyrics?" Chris asked, as Jin, for the millionth time that night, lazily nodded.

Aven was giving off a few, last minute riffs, even though the song itself was nowhere near as violent as her solos. Chris was now grabbing her bass, trying the best she could to focus on what chords to play, and at what timing. Harry's expression continued serious, as he was still sour about what happened earlier that day, though he was now concentrating on his drum works.

Jin, however, couldn't stop noticing Noriko, who was sitting in one of the chairs, close to the backstage, but on a spot that wouldn't be noticed by the audience once the curtain was pulled. Sighing, he walked up to her, and without delays, he asked her.

"Is Harry right? Is Nera really setting up something for all of us?" Jin asked, surprising Noriko.

Looking down, she just couldn't find words to answer his question. "I... I mean, it's..."

_She had been washing her hands in the women's bathroom, earlier that day, when Nera had stepped into the bathroom as well, startling her. She stood next to Noriko and proceeded on the same actions. She then looked at her._

_"Look here, you filthy gypsy! You may sound all innocent, but I know your kind and I know you are up to something. So if anything out of usual happens, be sure you and your new friends won't live long enough to regret it. Got it?" Before Nera walked out, she threw one last look at Noriko, who remained motionless, staring at the mirror. "And be sure not to tell anyone of them about what I told you. None of you can fool me."_

_A few seconds later, Harry had barged into the bathroom._

She looked up at Jin, putting up a fake smile as she replied. "No Jin, it's just Harry's imagination. I'm fine." She said, seemingly fooling Jin with success.

"By the way Noriko, I was gonna ask you this after we left the cruise, but... Do you wanna join our pirate crew?" Jin asked, to which Noriko could only look at him in shock. They had barely known her and he was already asking her to join his crew. This was the first time someone had ever trusted her like this.

"I'll think about it!" Noriko answered, as Jin put up one of his very rare, big smiles.

"That's awesome! Oh and by the way, it's like I told you: I won't let your efforts go down the drain..."

"C'mon Jin, HURRY UP!!" Aven told him, as the curtain was now slowly rising. Running to his place, he grabbed the microphone, as he kept smiling at Noriko, continuing his sentence. "Because after all, Noriko..."

The curtain was now seconds away from revealing their small-time, disguiseful band, as Jin erupted the end of his speech with gleam.

"YOU ARE OUR NAKAMA!!"

"YEAAH!" The other three cheered along with Jin, as the curtain had been completely pulled, revealing their band, as the multi-coloured spotlights hit them, and the applauses from the wide audience filled the air.

Noriko smiled, a smile that she had almost forgotten a long time ago. Those four were definitly something different, something special.

She knew that the real show was about to start.

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

AAND it's over... FOR NOW, THAT IS!! XD

Ok, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I tried doing it this long to make up for the others, I hope it was long enough. By the way, I've been editing the other chapters, clearing out a few plot-holes here and there that I noticed, so you can read 'em again, if you like.

BY THE WAY, I apologize for not doing this sooner, but here goes credits for these OCs that have until now showed:  
Ed/Kane, Cpt. Graybeard, Jinketsu Namura, the pig-masked guy, the little girl dressed in the green dress, Harry Hanford, Chief Cook Gary, Librarian Mary, Genkoumaru and Nera Kenizuma were made by **Alter Shead**, or ME;  
Chris Hopkins was made by **SeeNoEvil121**;  
Aven I. Dentity was made by **Blu-Calling**;  
Noriko Ryoushi was made by **NeoGene**.

And to others that may've entered OCs, do not think I left them out, because I wont. The story is still on, and due to that, READ AND REVIEW, and I'll see you again in the next chapter.


	13. Off Music, Dance and Brawls IV

_"As the ships sail, hand in hand_

_The wind blows soft, we cross the line_

_On a sunny day, or a starry night_

_The drinks on the deck, oh fellow pirate men_

"Oh my God, is voice is so... melodious!" was the stunned comment of Noriko, who had decided to move from the back of the curtain to sit in the audience. It was clearly a pirate song, and the fact Jin and the others were playing it for Nera Kenizuma and the other rich snobs brought some shock into her heart. Suddenly, a small grin grew on her lips. "These guys are crazy... maybe as crazy as me."

Above the audience seats, in the VIP lounge, Nera stood there glaring daggers at the singing pirates. "How dare these low life scumbags defy me? Playing these criminal songs for me to listen." Nera commented, taking a sip of champagne from a fine crystal goblet, only to have it shoved onto the ground, breaking it to pieces.

_"The crystal clear ocean so ever free_

_As we set sail across the seven seas_

_Get out and fight, with the knife between your teeth_

_Find the world that you thought you'd never see_

Noriko quickly rose from her seat, and in a heartbeat grabbed on to her violin, and let the rythm sink into her. Reaching the stage, Jin greeted her with open arms, as both them and Harry, Chris and Aven played like never before. The rythm was once again contagious, as the audience erupted in a tidal wave of cheers and whistles. Nera slowly began to rise from her seat, only to look at Jin, who even though was dancing along with the others, gave her a quick but venomous look, which made Nera cringe in fear. She then sat back once again.

_"As the ships sail, hand in hand_

_The wind blows soft, we cross the line_

_On a sunny day, or a starry night_

_The drinks on the deck, oh fellow pirate men_

"Pfft, coward..." Jin thought about Nera, as he kept singing and dancing, laughing at the moody violinist and her beautiful tunes that gave the mainstream, pirate song a new gleam.

"THIS IS AWESOME! WE'RE PLAYING A SONG THAT IS NOW AS FAMOUS AS THE BINK'S SAKE!!" Aven said, as he practically ripped the chords off of her guitar, never once seizing to amaze Harry, who in every five seconds was at the verge of being "guitar-slammed" by the hyperactive illusionist.

In the backstage, however, three men stood in the shadow, silent. They all wore the same purple, sleeveless jackets, with a black skull on the back, with tight pink spandex pants and black boots, and all shared the same red mohawk. The only thing that made them different from eachother was their size, whereas the middle one was very tall, about twice the size of the bulky Harry, the one that stood on the left against the wall was medium sized and a bit lean on the muscles, and the other that was sitting on the ground by the right was short and skinny.

Grinning, the skinny, shorter one turned to the taller one. "Hey Big Bro, what do you think? Are those chumps any good?"

"No Little Bro. Unless you're talking about how good they are as punchbags! AHAH!!" The taller one stated, followed by an abrupt laughter directed at his own comment. "And what do you think, Bro?"

The medium sized man, apparently named as simply Bro, closed his eyes and laid back against the wall. "We'll see... After all, that's what we're paid for, right?" Nodding, the others kept listening to the playing pirates' song.

_"WE ARE RUM'S BEST FRIEND!!!"_

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**Off Music, Dance and Brawls (IV)**

**Battle Aboard the S.S. Kykanit; Fighting for Noriko's Innocence**

"KICKASS, KIDS!!" Harry exclaimed, as he, Jin, Chris, Noriko and Aven cheered at the show they put up just a few minutes ago. Noriko had hugged everyone out of excitement, and was now playing her violin, once again, in a very enthusiastic way.

"I never thought you could sing so well, Jin. Who taught you?" Chris asked, sitting back in her bed. Jin just shrugged, as he too sat back in his bed, but only to end up lying down out of sheer exhaustion.

"I dunno. Apparently, I just can. I can't remember who taught me, though... If I was indeed taught..." Jin replied, though in a pretty low pitched voice. He wasnt accostumed to sing, even if it was just for the hell of it. He needed some serious resting, even if in that afternoon he had already taken a rest about 4 or 5 times.

Glancing at the other side of the room, Noriko ceased her feasting and took a good look. There, against the wall, laid a sabre. She took a few steps, and kneeled down right next to it. She passed her fingers through it, as a slight tear could be seen escaping her eye, though unnoticed to the others.

Quickly wipping it off, Noriko turned to the others, smiling. "I'm heading for the Casino. I'll be back in a few hours."

Closing the door behind her, silence quickly filled the room. Aven was busy singing the song "Rum's Best Friend" that she had played just a few minutes ago to herself, Harry had also decided to sit back in the nearest bed and relax, and Chris was just standing against the wall, thinking to herself. She then quickly turned to Harry.

"I noticed it, too." She said, catching Harry's attention who turned his gaze to her.

"Noticed what, kid?"

"Nera. The way she looked at Noriko when she stepped into the stage. I may have been skeptical at first, but the look she gave to Noriko is one I can recognize pretty well... The look of disgust..." Chris uttered the latter, few parts, remembering back the look that her grandma had given her back then when she found out for the first time that her granddaughter was an apprentice of the pirate ways.

"Tche, finally you've gotten some sense back. And like I said earlier, I don't think we should leave Noriko alone as long as we're on this ship." Harry stated, as both him and Chris, and even Aven who had started to pay attention to their conversation, all turned their attention to the resting Jin. "What about you, kid?"

"What about me?" Jin silently asked, with a pitch so low, one could've thought that he was talking in his sleep.

"We mean, what do you think about it? We all agree that we shouldn't leave Noriko alone." Chris stated. Jin, however, just sighed at her statement.

"C'mon Chris, give her a break. I mean, she's old enough not to get into trouble, isn't she?"

His remark was followed by Chris comically stepping on his face, the angry, "shark face" plastered on her expression. "NOBODY'S OLD ENOUGH NOT TO GET CAPTURED BY A CRIMINAL LUNATIC, YOU NEGLIGENT, LAZY BASTARD!!"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, WE'RE GOING RIGHT NOW!!" Jin said, comically attempting to stop Chris from stepping on him, though to no avail.

---------

Jin, Chris, Aven and Harry walked through the many corridors that connected Noriko's room to the ship's casino. Jin, crossing his arms behind his head, as he walked behind the trio. Once they finally arrived at the Casino, the scene they saw was not only the least that they would expect, but also shocking.

"YOU CHEATING BITCH!!" An enormous group of men dressed in black suits attempted to catch Noriko, though the latter just kept punching her way out.

The other four comically sweatdropped as they watched the weaponless Noriko literally sending the bulked up security guards flying away. Harry just sighed, as he comically commented.

"Wow, no wonder pirates can breach in and out of these ships..." The remark was followed by Aven's sudden laughter directed at Harry, who comically nudged her.

"HEY, WE'RE DOING OUR BEST, ALRIGHT? QUIT RUBBING YOUR NOSES IN IT!!" One of the security guards that had just started flying away thanks to Noriko comically replied.

After a while, Noriko eventually became outnumbered, as Chris cocked an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't we get in and help her, guys?" Chris asked, noticing Noriko finally getting dominated by the many security guards.

"Are you kidding me, kid? I'm pretty sure that in the next five seconds, about two dozens of them will share the same fate as the others, and kiss the sky, and- Hey kid, where are you going?" Harry suddenly asked, noticing Jin walking in the commotion's direction. Noriko, now subdued, being restrained and held onto her arms and legs by the multiple security guards, still tried to force her way out of there, but to no avail.

Jin's last step seemed louder than normal, as the group of security guards and Noriko herself turned their attention to Jin. Taking a deep breath, Jin spoke up.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Jin asked, as he stood there watching their reactions. Suddenly, he could see the huge mob of security opening path to someone. Much to Jin's disgust, it was none other than a very grinning Nera, who stood right in front of him. Waving her index finger in front of Jin, she quickly pointed to the restrained Noriko.

"This girl, this filthy excuse for a human being, was caught cheating in the many games here. Most of her money, she has already lost in other gambling. I say, we deliver her to the Marines." Nera said, as she was applauded by the many security guards and the other passengers that were also attending the Casino.

Shaking his head, Jin briefly looked at his empty palms, before tightly clenching them with force. Looking up, he smirked. "Funny, and I thought that this type of gambling was also prohibited!" This remark forcing the other passengers to gape their mouths and eyes wide, in utter shock.

Whoever this kid was, he was defying one of the members of the feared Kenizuma Family. Nera just closed her eyes, and laughed for a bit at Jin's statement.

"You know, the Marines always have an honest of dealing with these situations... of ours."

For the second time in that minute, Harry had once again opened his eyes in a second wave of shock. This was all the confirmation he needed. Even though it had just been a subliminal phrase, it served as a good enough confirmation. The Kenizuma Family did have something going on with the Marines, if not, with the whole World Government. Jin had just done him a mental favour.

Jin, however, wouldn't stop there.

"Ok then! We'll pay for whatever trouble she caused you." Jin simply said, as it was Noriko's turn to look at Jin in surprise.

"WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, JIN? YOU JUST CAN'T-"

"Be quiet. Hey, Chris..." Without the need to say more, Chris threw at him a medium-sized bag. Once Jin took a hold of it, it made a chingling noise, as to superficially show how big the amount of coins there was in that bag.

Looking over at the grinning Nera, he threw the bag at Nera, as she clumsily catched it with both hands, growling at Jin. Measuring it with her left arm, a large grin spread across her oversized face.

"Very well... Pst, release her. Let the gypsy go." Nera said calmly, as the security guards shoved her away from them, as she stumbled, but was easily caught by Jin, who held onto her with one arm, keeping her from hitting the ground.

Walking away with her bodyguards, Nera took a last look at Jin. "We'll be hopefully seeing eachother soon..." And with that, she left the Casino. A cold shiver ran across the spines of every one in that Casino, with the exception of Jin, Noriko, Aven, Harry and Chris.

Jin then took a quick look at Noriko in his usual, trademark, lazy tone. "We need to talk." Noriko, however, released herself from Jin's grasp.

"Look Jin, I'm thankful for what you did for me, but this isn't gonna end. EVER!" Noriko said, as Jin simply cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. "As long as people see my roots, and know what I am, and my heritage, they'll never leave me alone. Just look at Nera, as an example! Besides, I didn't need you to help me out of pitty-"

"Why cheating?" Jin simply asked.

Noriko looked at him for a moment. "Why cheating? Well, one must do something to survive, right? I don't expect you to know what it's like, wondering off alone for your entire life..."

"Well, I..."

"Sorry Jin, but you don't! I never had anyone helping me, or giving me even the slightest aid." She said, as she promptly ran away from the group, leaving Jin speechless. Harry, however, stood there, shaking his head in frustration.

"Damn it, this crew is gonna be the death of me..."

----------

Noriko kept running through one of the corridors on the Cruise Liner. As she passed by open room, a figure placed itself in front of her, as she bumped into it. Looking up, she saw who it was, as her eyes shot wide.

"W-What the...?"

She never did finish her confused statement, as someone came from behind her and dealt her a blow to the back of her dead, knocking her out cold.

----------

"WHAT?!?" Came the voice of a surprised Aven, who had just woken up, and yet, couldn't find Noriko anywhere. "She didn't return last night!"

"How do you know?" Came out the voice of a very sleepy Chris. "Maybe she just went out for a walk earlier."

"That's not right. She usually doesn't make her bed, and yet, it remained untouched from yesterday when the cleaners came!" Aven stated, though Harry just looked at her.

"What cleaners?" Harry asked, though his answer came not from Aven, but from Jin.

"I can aswer that. You see, last night when you all dragged me into that Casino..." His latter remark gave him a glare from Chris, making Jin gulp. "... moving on, you three went ahead, and I stayed a bit behind..."

----------

_"... I was about to close the door of Noriko's room, when I saw these three guys."_

_We see three guys dressed as cleaners. The two of them practically had the same facial features, and sported the same red mohawks. The only difference lied in their size, whereas it went as tall, medium sized and short. As Jin was about to close the door, someone stopped him from completing his task. Looking behind him, he saw those same three guys, smiling._

_"Room service." They said._

_"Oh, we don't want anything, really..."_

_"OBLIGATORY room cleaning!" They exclaimed, as Jin just sighed and let them in._

_"Carry on, then..." Jin said, as he left them and went to catch up with the trio right ahead, as Jin failed to notice those three guys snickering behind him._

----------

"Wait a minute. You let three guys we know nothing about get in our room just like that?" Chris asked, dumbfounded.

Jin however, just rolled his eyes. "OH YEAH CHRIS, THAT'S RIGHT! _Obligatory room cleaning, _**GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!**" Jin childishly replied, as an attempt at mocking Chris. "Yeah, that would've been for the best. How the hell would I know if they weren't genuine or not?"

"Well guys, genuine or not, they sure did have a genuine taste for Noriko's violin and sabre. It's not in this room anymore!" Aven exclaimed, as she pointed to the spot where Noriko's violin and sabre had once been yesterday.

"Great. Noriko is nowhere to be found, and we got robbed..." Harry said.

"WE'VE BEEN ROBBED!!"

"I'VE BEEN ROBBED, TOO! WHERE ARE MY JEWELS?"

"MY BEST DRESSES ARE MISSING!"

Quickly, the four pirates rushed over to where all the screams and commotion came. It didn't take long until they saw a huge mob of people reunited on the deck. Practically every rich women and men that were there were crying pathetically over their stolen goods.

"Great, apparently we weren't the only ones getting robbed..."

"I BLAME THE SAVAGE!" Came the all known voice of the infamous Nera Kenizuma. Narrowing his eyelids, Jin suddenly walked up to the source of such words, being followed by Chris, Aven and Harry. Shoving everyone in front of him out of the way, Jin abruptly stopped near Nera, giving her a standoff, shocking everyone around them.

"What proof... do you have... to blame her?" Jin asked, clearly pissed off at her, emphasizing every pause in his question. Nera, however, just chuckled.

"That's very easy to answer, you loud-mouthed idiot! She failed yesterday at gaining money by cheating, and now, she took it all upon stealing others! Don't forget she left way before we all left the Casino, and..."

"Actually, that wouldn't be possible!" came the voice of someone who apparently decided to come out from the middle of the crowd.

This person was a man who was slightly tall, and had lean yet noticeable muscles. His face was, however, covered by the hood of his black sleeveless overcoat, as he wore a red shirt underneath, and was dressed in blue jeans and black, dress shoes. Everyone's attention was turned to this stranger, as he waited for Nera to reply, who was looking at him, mouth gaped wide.

"W-What do you mean?" Nera questioned, as this stranger chuckled.

"Tch, it's obvious. It seems like everyone on this ship was robbed. However, you fail to notice the time needed to execute such a mass robbery to a cruise ship as big as this. It would take DAYS just to pick into all the locks of every door on this gigantic ship! her alone wouldn't be possible." The man stated, as everyone stared at him.

"We haven't seen her yet, though... Also, her violin and sabre have been stolen..." Aven, however, didn't finish her sentence, being cut off by Nera, as she once more kept up her insane ranting.

"MISSING? HER THINGS ROBBED? I SAY SHE PLANNED ALL OF THIS, AND THEN TOOK OFF WITH HER STUFF ON SOME RANDOM SHIP THAT PASSED BY!!" Nera said, as the mob raised their fists up in the air. "STILL, JUST TO BE SURE, I SAY WE SEARCH THIS SHIP FROM TOP TO BOTTOM IN CASE SHE'S STILL HERE!!" The mob then started all walking angrily towards the door to the inside of the ship.

"B-But, that doesn't make any sense! WHAT THE...?"

"Sorry dude, but apparently, they can't be reasoned with. Excuse me, for a moment!" the stranger told Jin, as in one second he was right next to Jin, and in the other he was blocking the mob's path.

Grinning, he took out two handguns from the back of his jeans, and started shooting at the mob's and Nera's feet, forcing them to dance, as he smiled like a madman. "C'MON KID, I'LL HOLD THEM OFF! YOU JUST MAKE SURE TO FIND HER! ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU ALL WANT TO DO??"

Jin just stood still for a second, looking at the stranger that had suddenly started helping them. However, he wasted no time in running towards the entrance to the Ship, as he was then followed by Aven, Chris and Harry.

Once Jin passed by the shooting stranger, that same stranger briefly diverged his attention towards the passing Jin, who didn't seem to notice the man's gaze on him.

"I can sense you'll be useful to me in the near future... Waterfall." The stranger muttered, as he redirected his attention to the dancing mob and Nera, that kept avoiding the bullets shot to their feet.

"THAT'S RIGHT PIDGEONS, DANCE! DANCE UNTIL DAWN!! AHAHAHAH!!!"

----------

"C'mon, it's this way!" Chris said, as the four of them descended a long staircase until eventually reaching a new compartment.

This particular space was basically ran by long pipes that descended along the long corridor. However, four ways could be seen. One could take the first left turn on the corridor, or the first right turn. However, a few more paces ahead, you could see two second right and left turns.

The four of them looked at eachother, knowing exactly what to do. Aven and Harry took the first left and right turn, respectively, while Jin and Chris ran a few more paces, and took the second left and right turn, respectively as well.

"WE WILL FIND NORIKO!!" The four of them thought simultaneously.

----------

Harry had reached a dead end. He had somehow reached a larger place then normal, with many different doors spread around. He guessed that this was the worker's room.

"Hmm, I wonder if one of these rooms are..." And then, as he went to turn around, he was met with a powerful blow that was dealt to the side of his skull, throwing him against the wall, as he violently crashed on it.

Slightly opening his eyes, he noticed a tall, bulky man, even taller and bulkier than himself, towering over him, cracking his knuckles. He then took out from his spandex pants' pockets two very big and thich drumsticks, as he evilly grinned.

"Let's see how good of a punchbag you really are! YAAARGH!" The man then prepared to bash those same drumsticks on Harry skull, as Harry seemed to be not anywehere near ready for what was yet to come straight for his head.

----------

Aven, on her end, had reached the public baths of the Cruise Liner.

"How the heck does a Cruise Ship also get public baths?" Aven questioned herself outloud, as she went to examine around the whole place.

The many tubs that were spread around that large room seemed to have no end, and the seemingly endless steam that erupted from some of the pipes didn't help at all. Examining the walls around, she appeared to have failed to notice the short, skinny red mohawk sporting man that raised a bass above his head.

"Sweet dreams, princess..." the man muttered, as he quickly sent it downwards against Aven, as an attempt to smash it against her head.

----------

Chris had reached the Boiler Room. She slowly wiped her brow, as the heat on that closed, and apparently tight room was unbearable.

She went to slightly take off her hat to cool off, but luckily heard someone stepping behind her. Drawing her Crescent Dagger from her hat, she swiftly maneuvered the dagger whilst taking advantage of her body's motion whilst turning around, apparently deflecting a sharp piece of glass that had been sent towards her.

"Who are you?" Chris asked, noticing that the person standing in front of her, about 20 feet away from her was medium sized, sported a red mohawk, wore tight pink spandex pants, black boots, a purple sleeveless jacket with a black skull in the back, and was smoking a cigarette.

Taking one last puff from the cancer stick between his right index and middle fingers, he threw it on the ground, crushing it with his foot to put it out. He then picked up an eletric guitar that laid right beside him, and took out another sharp piece of glass from his right pocket. Tuning the chords of the guitar, he looked at her, grinning.

"I guess you could say... I'm your worst nightmare!"

----------

Jin, for his turn, had reached a large door, which he guessed that would lead him to a very huge room. On the door, a sign had been placed that said: VIP Room.

"Nera's room, I assume... I would bet my life that Noriko is here, somewhere..." Jin said, as he attempted to open the door, though it was tightly locked.

"Shit... I guess it'll require brute force..." Jin uttered, as he reeled both of his fists back, one slightly more than the other. In the next moment, he pronounced the familiar name of his strike, as he let loose two fist shaped, watery projectiles as soon as he violently lunged his fists forwards.

"MIZU MIZU NO PISTOL!!!"

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

Well, here's the climax, so far... Three huge battles are gonna happen next chapter, and we'll still see if Jin shall find Noriko in that VIP Room. But who's this new stranger that holds two handguns, and seemingly wants something off Jin? Well, all answers, but maybe NOT ALL, I dunno yet, in the next chapter of "The Way of the Kaizoku"!

By the way, Little Bro, Big Bro and Bro are made by **Alter Shead**, or me.

Until then, farewell, and see you all in chapter 14!!


	14. Off Music, Dance and Brawls V

*TH-THUMP*

The door to the VIP Room hardly budged, promptly forcing Jin to lazily cock one of his eyebrows in mild confusion.

"Wow, what the hell is this door made of, diamond?" Jin uttered, as he cracked his knuckles, once again repeating the same actions as before, sending out his usual fist shaped, watery projectiles.

"MIZU MIZU NO PISTOL!!!"

*TH-THUMP*

And yet, not even a scratch was made. The impact only went as far as to shake up the door slightly, though it displayed no signs of breaking down. Sighing, Jin walked up to it.

Taking a deep breath, he brushed his fingers on the door's material, carefully examining it. At first, it seemed like a regular, wooden door. Though once Jin felt more and more the door, it was easy to put two and two together.

"How the hell can such a shitty, little "VIP make believe" door be so damn rigid?" Jin replied out loud, out of sheer frustration. He just wasn't in the mood of spending the next hour kicking it down.

However, he suddenly heard a few footsteps coming from right behind him.

Fixating his gaze, he noticed that the certain someone walking up to him was none other than an old man.

More precisely, he was a skinny, noticeably aged man, who possessed gray hair on the sides of his head, whereas he was bald on the top side of his cranium. He also had a very thick gray moustache, concealing his lips. He could barely be 5'6 ft tall, and he was dressed in a black, formal suit. Pulling out a finely made white tissue, he gently wiped the minor drops of sweat off his head.

"My, my, it is rather hot today!" The old man commented in a British accent, as he seemed to have just noticed Jin. "Wouldn't you agree, young lad?"

Jin then smiled in amusement, as he nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

Focusing back on his actions, he failed to notice the man suddenly coming up to him, now being practically a quarter of an inch close to him, and clearing his throat. Jin then adverted his gaze towards the old man once more, a sweat drop slowly and comically forming on his forehead.

"Huh, what is it?" Jin asked, clearly annoyed by the old man's sudden actions.

"May I know what you're attempting to perform?" The man asked, as politely as ever.

A bit frustrated now, Jin turned back to finding a soft spot on the wooden door, whilst answering to the old man's question. "I'm trying to break this door down. I'm sure that my friend is being held here!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Now if you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone for a while. I'm pretty close to breaking it down!"

"Hmm, what a clueless, young lad! I'm afraid I cannot allow you to complete such a task!" The old man told Jin, in his constant British accent, yet in a more threatening tone of voice, catching Jin's attention as the waterman slowly turned around, successfully meeting the old man's annoyingly calm demeanor.

"Are you serious, old man?"

"Yes, I am! This is Mrs. Kenizuma's room, and…" The man then attempted to crack his knuckles, but only to have it backfire on him, in a comical way. "OUCH, MY ARTRITUS!!" The old man shouted, as he held onto his hand.

"…" Jin comically sweat dropped at the old man's complaint, as it seemed the British accented individual managed to regain his pose once more, to finish his speech.

"As I was saying, that is Mrs. Kenizuma's room, and I'll be accursed if I let a young hooligan like you vandalize her most prized possessions! So, as Mrs. Kenizuma's… ARGH, MY ARTRITUS IS BACK AGAIN!!" the man commented, as he crouched to his knees, holding onto his arms.

"… This is so weird…"

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**Off Music, Dance and Brawls (V)**

**Harry, Aven and Chris vs. Bro Band**

"HOLY-" Harry sloppily managed to roll on to the side, avoiding the incoming strike, as those two oversized, thick drumsticks smashed against the floor where Harry once was, cracking it around and raising a bit of stone in the process.

Harry breathed heavily at the small display of brute strength, eyeing it carefully. Rubbing the spot on his skull that had been brutally smashed, now beginning to bleed, he slowly stood up. Facing the rock artist before him, Harry smirked.

"A drummer, huh? I was one for a day, you know…" Harry commented as the near-giant man quickly rushed towards Harry, raising those enormous drumsticks in the air.

Harry, however, just smirked, as the moment the man attempted to hit him, this time, Harry easily sidestepped him and kneed him in the gut, knocking the air out of his opponent's lungs, followed by a swift side kick to the neck, sending him crashing through the nearest wall.

"Kid, the only reason you caught me last time was because it never even crossed my mind someone would come and take me out… However, let me tell you that I ain't no pushover whatsoever!" Harry replied, as he walked up to the wreckage he had just created.

Walking up to it, he saw the bulky, tall man laying there in the middle of the collapsed piles of rubble, the drumsticks still in his hand. Sighing, Harry crouched next to the man, in order to check up on him.

"Hmm… indications of a broken neck… Most probably internal bleeding as well… and… Son of a bitch!" In the following second, Harry was held by his shoulders and the seeming drummer rotated him around like a toy, slamming him onto the ground, cracking the floor around, and a few of Harry's bones.

The latter had gotten the air forced out of his lungs ruthlessly, as he began having his stomach repeatedly smashed by those enormous drumsticks.

"AGH… SON OF A… AAGH!" The bulky man, possessing a demonic grin marked on his face, didn't appear to be stopping anytime soon, so using the last bit of strength available, Harry stomped on the man's belly, successfully launching him towards the ceiling, as he crashed on it, following a very hard landing with his back on the floor, and a part of the destroyed ceiling collapsing on top of him.

Slowly lifting himself up from the ground, and coughing up a few drops of blood, Harry massaged his damaged stomach and decided to look at the wreckage caused. This time, however, he decided to keep his distance off the giant he was fighting, even if he was lying supposedly unconscious on the ground.

"Bastard… he ain't getting me twice…" As expected, the monstrous drummer Harry was facing soon emerged from the pile of rubble, standing up once again, though this time, he seemed rather furious.

"You… Y-You lousy punchbag! Big Bro will CRUSH YOU!!!" The monstrous man, apparently named Big Bro savagely shouted, as he threw back his enormous drumsticks and sent them lashing at Harry.

"Big Bro, huh? When I'm finished beating you to a pulp, you'll be downed to Little Bro, you bastard…" Harry said, as he avoided the incoming strike, as it crashed on the place where Harry stood a second ago, as the Zoan-fruit fighter quickly spun and delivered a powerful hit to Big Bro's ribs with his heel, propelling him a few paces away.

"Well big guy, or big brother, or whatever your name is, you sure are not that original! Anyone could guess what you are going to do a million years before you even decide to do it!" Harry said, as he launched himself towards Big Bro, going as fast as his muscled body would allow him.

He then grabbed Big Bro by his shoulders, and violently pulled his skull down in a headlock, binding his neck forcefully with his arms. Harry, by watching Big Bro's reaction to the sudden grip that he forced into, understood that the near giant musician had probably never found someone that could outmatch his brute strength. Harry then smirked.

"Now what?" Harry asked, though he suddenly looked down in surprise as he began being elevated from the floor, and sent crashing back on the floor violently, in a suplex-like maneuver, knocking the air out of Harry.

"BIG BRO SEND YOU DOWN! BIG BRO WILL CRUSH YOU NOW!!!" The Bro drummer shouted once more, as he got up and prepared, yet again, to bash his enormous drumsticks on Harry's skull.

"Holy sh-" Rolling out of the way just in time, Harry sat up and reeled back his right fist, rapidly prompting it straight against Big Bro's shoulder.

"BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT RIGHT!!" Harry shouted, as the collision of fist-shoulder forced Big Bro to a considerable distance, as he hit the back of his head against a nearby pillar, leaving a considerable crack on it.

Harry, however, rubbed his right knuckles, as he groaned in pain.

"Damn it. I hate using Buta Dageki without going into my Hybrid form!" Harry muttered, as he lifted himself up and rose his leg up.

In a sudden moment, he stopped it and taking a last second to eye Big Bro, it was followed by bringing his leg down with considerable force on the ground, creating a small crater. From that crater forth emerged a familiar fissure.

"BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT TRANSPORT!!!" Harry shouted, followed by the growing fissure that directed itself towards the fallen Big Bro. The fissure then exploded from underneath him, the force of the impact throwing Big Bro's body in the air.

Gritting his teeth, Harry tried with all his might to endure the pain of his Buta Dageki art without recurring to his Devil Fruit powers as not to get any suspicious attentions from others, as not to let his disguise fall. He then raised his right leg, executing a side kick and ending it by pointing it at the body of Big Bro that stood in mid air, about to fall down.

"BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT SHOT!!!" Harry loudly shouted out of exhaustion, as a strengthened mass of air suddenly erupted from the force of his kick, shot right out of force and colliding with Big Bro's falling body, sending him crashing through a near pillar, and then ending up crashing against a final wall in that room.

A few seconds later, as Harry breathed in and out as ever so hardly, he suddenly dropped his foot back on the floor in slow motion, as in that same moment, Big Bro's now beaten up, bleeding and bruised body fell from the wall and landed roughly on the floor, cracking it around.

Finally, the same exact moment Harry's foot connected with the floor, a part of the ceiling that was noticeably cracked collapsed suddenly on the top of the unconscious Big Bro, the raining pile of rubble forming around and even shattering on top of the presumably unconscious, near giant drummer.

"… FINALLY!" Harry said, as moments later he slowly crouched next to the apparently knocked-out Big Bro. Spreading away the rubble around and on top of the gigantic body, Harry grabbed him by his sleeveless coat and picked him up, elevating him a few inches off the ground as much as he could, before snarling.

"Where did you took Noriko to? Don't you think I dunno who you are? I noticed you and two others like you in the backstage last night when we did that small concert! WHERE IS SHE?" Harry asked once more, raising the tone of his voice and shaking Big Bro up a bit.

The latter, now opening his eyes a bit, slowly tried to move his lips.

"I-I don't know… Bro and Little Bro took the gypsy singer somewhere, but they didn't tell me!" Big Bro asked, his voice now very tired.

Harry then chuckled at that small chunk of information he had managed to gather from the badly injured drummer. "Heh, apparently you can talk coherent things once some manners are beaten into you!" The Zoan Fruit user commented, as he dropped the completely unconscious near-giant on the floor.

"Hmm… To think that that disgusting Kenizuma brat would go as far as use these goons to kidnap a simple musician for her own, personal amusement just drives me CRAZY!!" Harry angrily shouted, out of sheer anger and frustration, as he took out all of these negative feelings into one power-packed punch that knocked down an entire wall.

"Eh… at least, there will always be someone out there to stop this… I hope…"

----------

*POOF*

In a poof of smoke, Noriko disappeared, leaving nothing but thin air behind, stunning the Bass smashing, and apparent foe of hers.

"What the HELL?!?" He yelled in surprise, as he began looking around in exasperation.

On the top of one of the decorative pillars in the Public Baths was the "Devil's Illusionist" Aven I. Dentity, user of the Meimu Meimu no Mi, which is the Illusion fruit, AND worthy of a very intriguing value of 96.000.000 belli. She smiled as hugely as possible, grinning at the confused assailant down on the ground, who was looking everywhere as an attempt to find an explanation for what has just happened.

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!? I KNOW I SAW THAT STUPID GIRL ABOUT A SECOND AGO!!!" Aven's smile then dropped as she heard the short-sized bassist calling her stupid. Jumping down, she then took a readying stance in midair, as she reeled back her fingers.

Now about mere inches from the bassist, Aven used the momentary downward impulse to jab her fingers on the back of the musician's head.

"PRESSURE POINT Nº7!!!" Aven proclaimed, as the musician was sent across the wet floors of the Public Paths and right against a wall, knocking on the same spot on the back of his head. A few seconds later, he held on to it due to the pain he was feeling. Smirking, Aven then pointed at the crouching bassist in a glorious pose.

"TODAY IS THE DAY YOU'LL FEEL SORRY FOR INSULTING ME, MIDGET!!" Aven said, in a very loud tone of voice, her hyperactive atittude showing up again.

The short-sized musician lifted himself off the floor, before randomly pulling out his bass, and smirking sadistically.

"Don't you dare insulting my stature, princess! It might be the last thing you'll say, y'know..." Suddenly, he passed his fingers through the middle chord, and a slow, and blunt sound was produced. The sound quickly reached Aven's ears, and in a sudden buzz that passed through her mind, she suddenly started to lose focus and balance.

Stumbling around, Aven had to crouch and take a hold to the ground, as her head began to spin and she started to feel as nauseous as ever. Slowly, and struggling to maintain her food on her stomach, she looked up at the smirking bassist. "W-What is happening to me? What did you do?"

"Eh, it's all due to the time me and my brothers took to practice and prepare our future as... THE BRO BAND, AS WE ROAM AND PLAY ANYWHERE WE CAN, HOPING TO BECOME THE GREATEST BAND IN THE WORLD!! I'M LITTLE BRO, BASSIST OF THE BRO BAND!!!"

A second later, Aven was placing her two hands over her mouth, in an attempt to stop the bearably avoidable. Sweatdropping, Little Bro laughed at the motion sickened Aven. "Heh, I guess that while making my epic introduction, I forgot to mention my ability. You see, one day while practicing with my base, I came across a note that once played would give the people that hear it many freaky symptoms, such as headaches, motion sickness, nausea, and a whole other bunch... That was the day my brothers puked the most..."

"YOU'RE TELLING ME, YOU MIDGET!!!" Aven said, as she supported her body with her left arm, lifting herself up from the ground, stumbling. _"I can't be beaten by this midget! I only now joined Jin's crew, and I don't intend to be broken down already. I will fulfill my duty to this crew, accomplish my dream and payback for when Jin and Chris saved me back in Lilina Island!!" _Aven thought, as multiple tick marks comically grew all over his head, before his eyes shot on fire, and he tightly held up his bass, pointing it at the "Devil's Illusionist".

"STOP INSULTING MY STATURE!! THAT'S IT! THIS TIME, I'M FOR REAL!! YAAARGH!" The short-sized bassist shouted, as he ran as fast as he could towards Aven, as she knew that the moment that bass smashed against her head, and in the current conditions that she was in, it would be her certain death.

_"I-I can't lose here... Not now... No... Not now... NOR NEVER!!!" _Aven stated in her mind, as the moment she was about to have that bass broken on her forehead, she rolled to the side, avoiding the incoming smash.

In that same moment, Aven threw once again both her hands over her mouth, in a comical stance. "NOT NOW, NOT NOW!!" Aven comically screamed, with anime tears dripping down her face. Annoyed, Little Bro swung once again his bass towards Aven, who once again managed to avoid by rolling to the side.

_"I need to think up of something! In the state I'm in, it's only a matter of time before he ends up getting his hit... Unless..." _Now this time having only been an inch from being smashed to the floor. _"I've got an idea... it's my only way out, and my only shot!" _

With this, Aven stood crouched on the ground, motionless. Smirking, and believing Aven was too exhausted to continue, Little Bro raised his bass in the air, and brought it down while saying: "Sweet dreams, princess!"

*POOF*

In another poof of smoke, the bass passed through the spot Aven had been just a second ago, though it only managed to clear out the smoke around. Growling, Little Bro looked around the Public Baths, running from one place to the other in hopes of finding her to finish her off. Although much to his dismay, and to his already enfuriating state, he couldn't find her.

Suddenly, he stopped and a smirk grew across his lips. He set up his bass, and while placing fingers atop the chords of his bass, he proceded on playing a very loud, and acute tune that created an echo all around the room, the sound waves being even able to clear away a few clouds of steam around.

Grinning, he yelled at his surroundings, in an attempt to get his message to the hiding Illusionist. "I dunno what kind of freaky powers you have, if you are some kind of ninja or not, but no matter how much time you spend hiding, I will eventually force you out!" He then proceded on playing yet another tune. However, he looked up and a violent gush of wind was all his mind was able to process, as he was sent against the wet floor, and skimming across it until he crashed against a near tub, all by the sound of Aven's voice proclaiming: "PRESSURE POINT Nº4!!"

Sitting up, he grabbed onto his nose. While hurriedly touching it, he found out that even the slightest touch would make it crack, as tears unwillingly escaped the corners of his eyes. Looking up, he saw a smiling Aven who readied herself for whatever Little Bro had for her.

Lifting himself up, he rubbed his chin in deep thought. "Hmm, you must be a pretty strong gal! None of my brothers can recover from these tunes of mine in such short time..." Little Bro commented, as he picked up his bass, and quickly played his tune once again, smirking evilly.

However, much to his shock, Aven didn't even shudder. Taking a closer look, it could be noticed that Aven was wearing ear plugs, further providing more shock into Little Bro's reaction. Growling angrily, he smashed his bass onto the floor of the Public Baths multiple times, though the bass remained intact, much to Aven's comic surprise.

"Hey shortie, take it easy there!" Aven told him, as Little Bro clearly snapped, and ran at her, bass raised in the air, ready to smash it on Aven's head. However, he once again failed smash it on top, as he proceded on slipping on the wet floor and went skimming across the room once more and into one of the water-filled tubs, creating a big splash. The tub was about as large as the room was in lenght. Aven looked rather interested at the turn of events, although suddenly, she felt a slight quake shaking up her surroundings, until a huge burst of water exploded from the tub, also releasing a very powerful sound wave along, it being channeled through the water and prompeting it to explode from the very large tub and flooding the entire room, filling the whole room with water with about 5 inches from the floor.

Coming from the tub, Little Bro looked over at the standing figure of Aven, until his eyes narrowed and his lips curved down in pure fury. "I knew something was freaky... How come you aren't wet? And how come the water around your legs isn't changing or something? This is some kind of ninja trick, and..."

*POOF*

"TOO LATE, MIDGET!!" A voice shouted from behind Little Bro, as the ear plug-wearing Aven suddenly disappeared in a very familiar poof of smoke, as the short-sized bassist turned around, and only to be met with both of Aven's fists driving deep into his stomach, a beautiful colective of splashes of water surrounding them in an artistic flow of a finishing move, as the force of the impact threw the room, as he collided against another tub in the other far side of the room, shattering it and letting the small quantity of water flood the room a bit more.

Aven then turned to her side, and found stuck to a wall a little mechanism, and on the top was a switch with the ON and OFF choices. Clicking on the ON option, a small sinkhole electronically opened in the floor, letting all the water ooze down it. Looking up front, she noticed the fallen body of Little Bro. Walking up to him, he slightly raised his head to look at her.

"W-What are you? Are you some kind of... *gasp* ninja?" Little Bro asked, to which Aven responded by bringing stars to her eyes, comically dancing around.

"OOOOH, I WISH I WAS ONE! A HIGH SEAS NINJA!! OOOH, THAT'S EVEN COOLER!! AND EVEN MAYBE..."

"DON'T GET CARRIED AWAY, DAMN IT!!" Little Bro yelled, with the comical, shark face, bringing back Aven's attention. "But... what kind of ability is that?"

"Hmm... I shouldn't really tell you... But I guess it won't harm... I'm a Devil Fruit user!" Aven simply said, shocking Little Bro who stood there, holding on to his stomach and with a horrified expression.

"D-D-Devil Fruit user? B-But that's not right... I-I saw you, you were real, I mean, I... I couldn't affect you with my power because of..."

"Because of the ear plugs? Sorry, that was part of my ability. I am able to manipulate any kind of illusions. If anyone other than us two saw you fight against that clone of mine with the ear plugs, he'd assume you were fighting against thin air... which you kind of were!" Aven explained, much to Little Bro's shock. "Besides, where would I get ear plugs, anyway? It's not like I carry them around with me or anything just to be prepared for things like these. While you were busy fighting that clone, I kept myself in some other far spot of this room, hidden in middle of this mist... steam... clouds, whatever, to recover from that state you left me in from the beggining."

"Tch, damn you..." Aven then proceded on crouching next to him, as she looked at him, dead in the eye, and with a very serious, and uncharacteristic expression plastered to her face. "Now tell me, where did you and your brothers hide Noriko in? Tell me now."

"W-We hid her in... in... *gasp*" Little Bro couldn't finish his confession, as the pain on his stomach overwhelmed him, and his senses faded to black, as he lost consciousness.

Sighing, Aven lifted herself and walked away from the unconscious body of Little Bro, as she comically commented: "Maybe he'd have kept himself conscious a little while longer if I had punched him with only one fist..."

----------

*WOOSH*

"CRESCENT ARC!!!" Chris yelled, as she swung her Crescent Dagger in Bro's direction, as a slicing mass of air was sent against the guitar player. However, he blocked it with his own guitar, much to Chris's shock, letting it disperse in multiple, small air masses and land on a few stone walls, giving them small cuts.

"H-How did you block my Crescent Arc?!? What's that guitar made of?" Chris asked, which made Bro grin.

"This guitar right here is made from wood that came from the Natura Kingdom! It's a special type of wood, that..."

"That can only be cut by a small amount of metals, yeah I know..." Chris answered, as she grunted at this repetitive threat to her slicing abilities. It made her remember of Genkoumaru's weapon, which was made of this same type of wood.

"Let's not waste any more time with useless attacks! Lemme show you something very interesting..." He said, as he used the piece of glass he was holding and with it played a very loud tune with his electric guitar.

This action allowed him to unleash a sound wave that was hard enough to disform the many metal materials around the Boiler Room, and even extinguished a few flames that burned inside the machinery. As the floor began to crack in numerous places, a very peculiar thing also happened to Chris, who remained frozen in her, not having expected that large of a sound.

A small trickle of blood suddenly shot from both her ears, as Chris stumbled around for a bit until she was forced to pierce her Dagger on the floor to keep herself from falling. She then looked around, feeling a tremendous ear pain, and noticed something very scary.

_"I'm deaf!!!" _Chris came to that conclusion, as she slowly lift herself up from the ground.

Suddenly, without her having the time to dodge or block, the piece of glass that Bro had been using razed through her skin, and hit the wall behind her, leaving Chris with a severe cut across her neck. She pressed on the cut with force, afraid it could have hit a blood vessel that could cause her to bleed to death. She then threw a glance at Bro, who smiled at her.

_"Tch, do not worry, ya knife-weilding bastard. If I had wanted to, I could've cut that neck of yours in half... though watching you struggle in vain will be much more entertaining_!" Bro thought, as he then took out a new piece of glass from his pocket, and played another loud tune, disforming once more the steel machinery and cracking more and more the ground they were stepping on.

The force of the sound wave that manifested through the air also forced Chris back, as she was then sent crashing against a stone wall, leaving a very dense mark on it, as she fell to her knees, attempting to catch the air that had out of the blue escaped her lungs.

Bro, watching it all unfold right in front of his eyes, began laughing like a mad man, enjoying this show of his for every second that passed.

"MARVELLOUS! KICK ASS!! THIS IS BRUTAL TO THE CORE!! I WANT MORE. MORE!!" Bro shouted to the air, as he began continously playing those same tunes on his electric guitar, as berserk as possible, destroying everything around him, disforming more and more the steel machinery, cracking more and more the floor, as it began creating several small craters around, and forced Chris more and more against that wall, as she began sinking her body into it.

Finally, after about two minutes of continuous guitar playing and destructive wreckage, Bro ceized his actions. He then walked up to the stuck Chris, who remained in the middle of the rubble and disfigured stone wall. He then walked up to her, sniffing the cut on her neck, as he proceded on licking the falling blood, licking her cut clean, as it stung her.

"Bastard... sick, perverse bastard..." Chris muttered, which made Bro chuckle.

"I'm a pirate. Even if I'm in a band, and I'm a Rock and Roll player, I'm still a dirty, blood-thirsty pirate... literally." He answered.

However, before he had the chance to notice, he looked at the spot where Chris once stood, but found nothing. Suddenly, he felt something itchy on his stomach. He noticed he had a small cut on his stomach, although it was losing a lot more blood than normal. It just kept on letting more and more blood escape, and he then felt that same feeling on his back. Behind his back, on the same spot of his stomach, a similar cut also kept overflowing with escaping blood. He then felt himself getting weaker and weaker, as his vision began to fade.

"Crescent... Revenge!!" Chris muttered, as Bro fell to the ground, his vision bluring by the second. Looking back, it was noticeable that Chris had swiftly moved behind bro the second he had lost attention from her.

"H-How did you...?"

"The will to save my nakama... to save a friend I just made... that contagious desire passed on to me by my idiotic soon-to-be captain... the wish and need to save others I just met... who I already consider friends..." Chris replied, as she remembered the time Jin helped her and even considered her a friend, even though he had just met her that day.

_"I'll teach you not to mess with my FRIENDS!!!"_ the voice of Jin back in Fuschia Island rang through her mind like an echo, bringing a smile to her lips.

"Yeah... that single sentence changed my whole ideals!" Chris stated. She then turned to his fallen body. "Where's Noriko?"

"V-VIP room..." That was the last thing the electric guitar musician said, before falling to the ground, succumbing to the blood loss, pain and the heat of the Boiler Room.

"Hmph!" Chris grunted, as she began walking away, having apparently recovered a bit of her hearing. "I need to gather up with them. That way, it'll be easier to find Noriko."

----------

"I am tired to saying this... Leave gramps, before you get yourself hurt... and I don't mean that I kick your ass, I mean you kick your own ass, by the way things are going for you..." Jin lazily commented, as he turned his attention back to the wooden, solid door of this VIP Room.

"N-No, I can't..." the man replied, as he stood up and valiantly faced Jin. "As Mr. Kenizuma's personal butler, I cannot allow you to perform such misdeeds. I'm Henry Butler, for Heaven's sakes!!"

"... WOW, what are the odds of a butler actually having Butler as his second name? You're Mr. Butler, then!" Jin comically commented, an issue apparently not confortable to be talked about with the old man.

"THAT IS NOT TO BE DISCUSSED!!" the old man angrily stated, in that funny, shark face. "Besides, if you do not leave now, I will be forced to use drastic measures."

"Drastic measures, tch... Hey gramps, you dropped something!" Jin said, as he picked up a small, light box from the floor and threw it at the old man, who almost let it drop to the floor.

"DON'T DO THAT AGAIN, YOUNG LAD!!" the aged butler shouted once more, in the funny, shark face. "Although, I thank you. This is something very important to me!"

"No problem, I guess... I know how it is to hold objects as something very precious to you."

"You do?"

"Yeah gramps, I do! But now that I think about it, if you had a hard time dealing with the falling weight of that small box, I wonder how you're gonna fight me to keep me off your mistress's room." Jin commented, clearly mocking the old man's strenght.

"Hmm, do you really believe I'm that weak?" the aged butler asked, to which Jin nodded. Jin then even made a sign, as he pointed to his right cheek.

"Here! try and take a good swing at it."

"That wouldn't be honorful, you young hooligan!"

"OH, honor, schmonor! Just try and test it out to analyze your strenght! That's all!" Jin said, as Mr. Butler walked up to him, slowly and forcefully reeling back his fist.

"Well, if you do insist..."

*CRASH*

Jin's head ended up getting buried in a near stone wall, as he sent crashing against it, headfirst, as the rest of his body remained motionless. A small line of blood then began falling from a crack around the zone Jin's head had crashed through, much to Mr. Butler's expression.

"I guess I would be as weak as you thought I was, young lad... if I wasn't...

...

... a Devil Fruit user!"

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

AND I'M FINALLY ON THE ITCH OF UPDATE!! Soryr for the long delay, I've bene busy, but at least I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for yet another cliffhanger, though I must say, I'm impressed with myself on this one. Three fights in one chapter, and a last one yet to come for the next one.

By the way, Mr. Henry Butler belongs to **Alter Shead**, or me!

Stay tuned, and read and review!!


	15. Off Music, Dance and Brawls VI

"Damn it, where did he go to?"

Harry ran as fast as his body allowed him, each step so furious and rapid that even left cracks around the floor. Not even bothering to look for the obstacles or walls in his way, he just forcefully burst through everything that dared to stand in his way. Taking a turn to his left, he stopped as hard as he could on his tracks, raising a lot of rubble from the ground and a path of destruction carved on the ground. Looking up, he noticed Chris and Aven had already reached the initial spot where they had parted ways.

"All of us are finally here, at last!" Chris commented, as Harry took a deep breath, then looking up the at the Crescent Dagger user.

"Yeah kid, this is where we parted last time! Did any of you get any trouble or found out any clues?" Chris asked, to which both Aven and Chris negated.

"Nope! Mine was knocked out way before he could give me an answer..." Aven stated, remembering the number she did on Little Bro, even snickering at the "midget's" antics.

"Yeah, same here kid! Mine didn't even know where she was, apparently... What about you, kid?" Harry asked, his voice trailing to Chris.

"The VIP Room! That's where he told me that they left her. I don't know if it's true or not." Chris said, pressing onto the wound on her neck.

"Well, we've got nothing to lose! And judging from the fact this corridor only has four turns to be taken, and we found nothing other than enemies on our ways, then this VIP Room must be exactly at Jin's location!" Harry replied, taking every bit of information into account, filling in both his companions.

With the mutual understanding of the three of them culminating into a simultaneous nod, the three of them took their directions into Jin's path and ran to his possible aid.

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**Off Music, Dance and Brawls (VI)**

**A Clash Between Ambitions; Jin's Resolve!**

"Damn it, butler-man, you really did a number on me..."

Jin's voice came from the hole his head was stuck on, as more and more trickles of blood fell from the cracks that were slightly opened all around. Placing his foot on the wall, he forcefully pushed it into the wall, in a struggled attempt to remove his head off the forsaken wall he had been driven into.

"This is about as shameful as I thought it would be... However, it's only as shameful to you, young hooligan!" Mr. Butler commented, adding a slight snicker to the end of his sentence, almost able to be confused for a sneeze.

"Ah, put a damn sock in it, you shitty butler..." Jin said, as he finally managed to remove his head off the wall, cracking it even more around and unleashing more pieces of rock onto the ground, as it spread around. The small dust started to clear off, as a few drops of blood fell from Jin's head and few strands of hair to color the ever white and wrecked floor.

Shaking his head a bit, wiping a bit of blood from his hair which had now started to ooze onto his face and massaging his neck, he then turned to his supposed adversary.

"This contradicts the fact you could barely lift that other box of yours... No one that can't even do that can deliver such an inhuman punch like that one." Jin stated, filling in the obvious. "So old man, which Devil Fruit did you dare to eat?"

Smirking, the man decided to explain it through a demonstration. He slowly lifted his right foot off the ground, and in the next second, drove it onto the ground. However, he only managed to create a thump sound, not even scratching the floor.

Jin then lazily raised an eyebrow at Mr. Butler's actions, scratching the back of his head. "I don't see the big deal..."

However, after a brief and separate amount of seconds, and butler once again lifted his right foot off the floor.

"Ok... What do you want to..." Jin, however, never managed to conclude his question, as in the next second, that time, the old man's right foot drove right through the ground, shaking their surroundings a bit, leaving a very dense and notably deep crater in that same spot, allowing the forming of dust to settle and the spreading of cracks and released rocks.

Jin then blinked at that, though his expression didn't change as much, as he could relate that same action to the awfully powered punch he had been forced to tank a few minutes back.

"What's that supposed to show? The difference between using and not using your Devil Fruit ability?" Jin asked.

"Precisely!" Mr. Butler commented, as Jin sweat dropped at that.

"But why would you do that if I had already witnessed it first handedly when you punched me about two minutes ago?" Jin asked, to which Mr. Butler brought his left thumb and index fingers to his chin.

"My apologies! I had assumed that the force of said punch had affected your already fragile mind."

"DON'T BE SO COCKY, YOU SHITTY OLD BUTLER!!" Jin comically, yet angrily proclaimed, in the typical shark face.

"Not of a matter. The power I used in that single punch wasn't even half of my full potential!" The old man carried on, as he suddenly ran at Jin, and in one fateful swing, attempted to jab Jin for a second time, though this time, Jin sidestepped his aged adversary and back flipped to a safer distance.

"Damn it old man, take it easy there... I hate hitting old and fragile-looking people, but I guess I can open an exception for you!" Jin said, as he ran faster than the old butler, and in an instant punched him square in the mouth.

"Eh, what the hell?" Jin stirred, as what to anyone watching would seem Jin punching the old man in the face, who apparently hadn't even moved an inch, felt to Jin like he had just tried to punch several layers or bedrock, something he hadn't been prepared for.

Pulling his hand back, he took a few stumbling steps back while holding on to his damaged hand, pressing it hard in an attempt to block the pain, while also massaging it.

"What the hell? How the hell are you that hard to hit? Looks like I just tried to punch through bedrock or something..." Jin exclaimed, though it was much to Mr. Butler's amusement.

"Now you understand, young man. NOW you understand the true power of the Noukou Noukou no Mi... Or by other words, the Density Fruit." Mr. Butler replied, eyeing Jin carefully as the waterman took a step back, and positioned himself to fight once more.

"The Density Fruit? What do you mean?" Jin asked, remaining motionless.

"It's an ability that allows me to increase or decrease the density of any part of my body, thus making it as rigid as I wish. However, density also involves volume and mass, which means..."

Suddenly, he ran as fast as he could at Jin, who was waiting for his aged opponent to strike. His opponent then threw a kick directed at Jin's ribs. However, moments before the kick connected, Jin could see his leg had slightly increased in size and thickness, as Jin then blocked the strike with his arm. This, however, was proven to be futile as the force of the blow was enough to damage Jin's arm and throw him against the wooden door, forcing the air out of his lungs, as his body collapsed afterwards on the floor, though curiously, not even leaving the slightest of marks on the VIP entrance door.

"As you may have noticed, I can also increase the size and rigidness due to density properties. And even though I'm this old but can still be this fast and strong, I can only increase my limbs to this size, as age forgives no one, unfortunately..."

Jin then rose from the ground, very slowly and weakly, holding on to his left arm and spitting a bit of blood._ "Tch, damn it... This guy is freakishly strong... How the hell can I fight him, if he's gonna keep hitting, and each hit he can manage can't even be blocked?"_ Jin pondered, as he once again positioned himself in his Jujitsu stance. _"I guess I'm gonna have to rely on my Devil Fruit abilities..."_

"And now you are able to see, young hooligan, that there isn't a single thing that you can do. All that awaits you from here on is unbearable pain." Mr. Butler finished, before lunging once more at Jin, delivering a right hook that barely missed its target, it being the sole reason for Jin's bending back as if participating in the most excruciating limbo contest.

Lifting up his left foot, he sent it smashing right against Mr. Butler's jaw, which by its turn, was hardened up, not even taking in any force of the impact. Clenching his teeth, Jin used as much flexibility as he could before supporting his body's weight with his arms, and launching both his feet towards the old man's head, though only to come across what felt like a massive wall of steel.

Stumbling back, Jin fell to the floor, sitting on it as he took out of his sandals, and placed them down on the floor.

"Don't wanna damage these… they weren't exactly cheap…" Jin said, as he also took out his orange jacket and placed it on the floor, thus readying himself to fight bare foot and with an exposed upper body, further annoying Mr. Butler.

"Now you pretend to fight nearly naked? You young hooligans, these days…" The old aged Butler commented to himself, as he launched once more against Jin, turning his fist rigid once more, and attempting to strike Jin square in his face, though it fell short as Jin out of the way and as rapidly as possible, leg-swiped Mr. Butler. Luckily, Mr. Butler hadn't been expecting, though however, before he hit the ground, he turned his body rigid once again, as to avoid hurting himself. Smirking, and knowing this would be the old man's next move, Jin shot from his rising knees two water jets that propelled the old aged combatant high in the air.

The weight of his rising body, still suffering from the effects of the Density fruit, was however allowing gravity to attract it much easier onto the ground. Noticing this, before Mr. Butler fell on top of him, Jin, who was still laying on the ground, shot water jets from the soles of his feet, managing to take him out of the way just in time, as a second later, the heavy body of Mr. Butler fell down on that same exact spot, once again bringing a great impact and opening a new crater on the ship's resilient floor.

Lifting himself up from the ground, Mr. Butler smirked once again. "Apparently, I am not the only one that should be concerned about the Marines and their new law against Devil Fruit users…"

"Tch, whatever…" Jin said.

"You must've ate some sort of fruit that allows you to control water… I have never heard of one so powerful, to be honest… And if you think about it carefully, you could have probably drowned me or something from the start of this match… which means, you have no experience with it whatsoever-"

"ARGH, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, PUT A DAMN SOCK IN IT, YA' OLD GEEZER!!" Jin said, now becoming sick of everyone telling him the exact same thing. "Using this ability to instantly drown my opponents isn't my style of fighting. I always fight with my fists, not with some sort of "easy cheap victory" attack…" At last, Jin also lifted himself up and curled his fists in pure strength, as tight as possible whilst encasing them in water before lunging at Mr. Butler with all his might.

Smirking, the man, in a very experienced control of timing, as it seemed, made his right fist rigid and dug it as forcefully as possible, deep into Jin's stomach, as a sudden spur of blood escaped his mouth. The force of the blow was enough to send him crashing against the wall on the farthest end of the division. However, Jin's body still managed to show a sign of the Waterman's remaining life, forcing Mr. Butler to raise an eyebrow.

"That is quite amazing, indeed… even much stronger opponents that I've faced in my younger days would have died from just the impact itself. You, however, remain alive even after being thrown around through such a severe punishment!" The old man commented on Jin's durability, as he had now managed to grab on to the walls dense mark, using it as leverage to slowly, yet fully stand up.

"Yeah… I guess I'm pretty good at taking beatings after beatings…" Jin said, in a very low tone, not even loud enough for the old Butler to hear.

However, noticing that Jin's lips had moved, though not having produced a sound forced Henry the Combat Butler to ask. "What was that, you said?"

"I SAID I'LL KICK YOUR HARD ASS, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'M GONNA DO!" Jin said, not even wasting a single second as he shot water jets from the soles of his feet, propelling him as rapidly as possible at Butler. Reeling back both of his water-encased fists, one slightly more than the other, Jin prepared for one of his trademark attacks.

"MIZU MIZU NO PISTOL!!" Jin shouted, as he punched the air twice with both his fists, one shortly after the other, unleashing two fist-shaped, watery projectiles right against a waiting Butler, who remained motionless. "…AND WITH TWICE THE USUAL FORCE!!" That being said, Jin did use the fact of him being launched by his water jets, and thus granting his Pistol attack to become a bit faster and stronger.

(Mizu Mizu no Pistol = Water Water Pistol)

Once again hardening his body, the two projectiles hit their target dead on, straight against his chest, though only managing to send him back a few inches, as his feet never left the ground.

"Give up, young hooligan…" The old man said, and taking advantage that Jin had, somehow, lost control of his water jets and was now heading towards him, he hardened his fist, and in one swift motion, as Jin was now only a meter away from him, pummeled him with all his might into the ship's division's hard floor, creating an enormous amount of cracks all over the floor of the whole division. There wasn't a single spot on the floor that had neither cracks nor risen rubble.

Walking up to Jin's fallen body, whilst passing through the middle of all that rubble, Mr. Butler re-commenced his speech once more. "You should know… if you truly intended to save your friend, then you should have known… what is like to… do anything you can." Mr. Butler commented, as he reminisced on his memories from times before…

----------

"_AARGH!"_

"_YAAARGH!!!"_

"_NOO, PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU!!" These were examples of the many final, horrified voices of Henry Butler's victims._

_I was nothing more but a bounty hunter… if there was any gang leader that was offering a decent enough reward for the murder of someone, or if there was a bounty available and placed up by the Marines, I'd take it…_

_Many fell from the mere feel of my steel-rigid kicks and punches, as they would be driven into their lifeless corpses. _

_(The figure of a younger Henry Butler, dressed in a ripped and dirty jacket and dark-green pants, along with brown sandals stood in the path of multiple piles of corpses, some with their limps either removed, or others with their faces grossly disfigured. The most noticeable characteristic on this much younger Henry Butler was the blood that dripped along both of his fists.)_

_During what seemed to me like an eternity, I experienced Hell on Earth… I experienced absolute survival on this jungle they call… life._

"… I was one fighting for survival, with no one to rely on. I was an orphan, and I still am, young hooligan. Never had I felt the soft and warm touch of a helping hand… that was, until that fateful day, 15 years ago…"

"_I WANT YOU AS MY BUTLER!!"_

_Who seemed to be a 5 year old Nera Kenizuma pointed at an approximately 50 year old Henry Butler, sitting against the wall of a building block._

"_GRANDPA TOLD ME HE WAS STRONG! I WANT HIM AS MY BUTLER NOW!!" Nera told to this man wearing a suit and tie that was standing right behind young Nera, with a silent nod. He then turned his face to the bum that was Henry Butler._

"_You WILL be handsomely rewarded!" This man told him, as for a few moments Henry Butler saw something as extreme as ever, something he had secretly longed for. A helping hand… Even though he recognized the name Kenizuma as one of the rising Crime Families of that time, and even if he knew that he couldn't probably refuse at the risk of being killed right there, he just smiled and hugged the young Nera that, despite her age, already displayed a bit of a chubby and short stature._

"_Thank you… Thank you so much, young mistress!"_

"_EW, GET OFF OF ME, YOU STINKY BUM! YOU'LL GET ME DIRTY AND RUIN MY NEW DRESS!!" the young Nera exclaimed, shoving him off her._

_However, still grinning as happily as ever, Butler quickly nodded._

"_And what's your name then?" She asked, out of curiosity it seemed._

"_OH, BUTLER, YOUNG MISTRESS! HENRY BUTLER!!!"_

----------

"… And even though I know how much of a cold-hearted criminal she is… she was the only one that gave me the slightest of chance to prove my other values…" Mr. Butler, after taking a few seconds at looking at Jin's unconscious body, spread the rubble around with each of his step, walking away.

"Maybe by then, you would know what it is to ignore that crap about "fighting by your own style", and just cling on and do whatever you can to protect the ones you cherish the most… maybe if you had passed through what I had, JUST MAYBE… you would've known what it's like…"

Before he crossed that enormous, wooden door to the VIP Room, he heard the sound of rocks being spread around, and stopped on his tracks. Slowly looking where Jin's body was, he forcefully took a few steps back out of something between surprise and sheer horror.

The Waterman was now, once again, lifting himself up, as his face was now completely covered in blood, and almost all parts of his body were covered in black spots, from his upper body to his legs, and even his arms and knuckles. He wasn't even standing up normally, as he was stumbling around, from side to side, before covering his mouth with both of his hands, and shoving his head down a nearby crater, in an attempt to "get the nastiness out of the system"… in other words, to puke.

"Impressive… This is absolutely astounding…" Butler commented, taking yet again another step back. "Even though the pain he felt was enough to make him vomit, he still manages to stand up… This lad is not human at all… ARGH, AND MY ARTHRITIS HAD TO BE BACK AT THIS TIME!!" Butler comically commented, as he held on to his arms, rolling around on the rubble on the floor, as Jin slowly turned his nasty-looking expression to the rolling Butler.

"Hey ya old geezer, have ya finally popped a membrane or something?" Jin asked, smirking, before shoving his head once more on to the crater, to comically "dispose of the bad stuff"… or in Mr. Butler's words, vomit.

Finally lifting himself up rather quickly, Jin takes a good look at Mr. Butler before grinning. "This time, it's your turn to feel pain!!"

Suddenly, Jin jumped highly in the air, as his body gained a watery, blue aura that covered his entire body. While in midair, Jin started spinning as he launched himself headfirst like a comet onto the unsuspecting body of Henry Butler, who was still busy with his arthritis. Once he looked back, it was too late, as Jin shouted seconds before fully connecting the attack.

"MIZU MIZU NO UZUMAKI!!!"

(Mizu Mizu no Uzumaki = Water Water Whirpool)

The impact was strong enough to create what seemed like a slight earthquake, as the ship began rocking a bit more than usual, the rubble beginning to spread around and as a large crater that deepened into the ground in a spiral shape was formed, giving way for a huge cloud of smoke to settle in.

"Urgh… God that hurt…" Jin's voice commented, as once the dust managed to disperse, Jin's figure was now completely visible, as he was rubbing his head. Jumping off the crater, he looked back to see the fallen body of Mr. Butler, as Jin snickered.

"Told you I wasn't going to let you beat me, you shitty old butler…" Jin said, as he jumped to the other side of the crater, as it stood in the way of the massive, wooden door of the VIP Room.

"Now to find a way to bring this door down and…"

"NO, YOU FILTHY HOOLIGAN!!" Jin heard Mr. Butler's voice from behind him as he quickly spun around to find a very bruised and bleeding figure emerge from the crater. It was none other than Mr. Butler himself, after receiving that Whirlpool attack head on. "That attack would have been the death of me if I hadn't hardened my body in time… However, since I was quick enough to harden my body, it didn't go all out for you, now did it?"

"I still don't know how you're still standing, then…"

"Hey, if I was younger, it would have taken me less than a second, however… Hey, I'm old! It takes me a bit more time to make my body fully rigid, so this time I only managed to make it half as effective… Thus how you managed to make this number on me." The aged Butler explained, whilst Jin mockingly yawned.

"Boring…"

"Tsk, I should have expected such a backstabbing attack from someone with no sense of honor…"

"Meh, it's like I told you earlier, honor SCHMONOR!! Besides, weren't you the one that said a person should do everything he could to save the ones he cherishes the most?" Jin asked, as he positioned himself to fight once more, ignoring the recurring pain he was feeling from the many black marks and fresh bruises on his body.

"If you shared at least that ideal, then I wouldn't mind… however, bare this in thought…

… Assuming that you did manage to beat me, and you did manage to save your friend, do you really think you'll be able to protect them all the time? As long as you remain as inexperienced as you are, without using your powers as effectively or going by these stupid ideals of "style", you will eventually be forced to face…

… true despair!"

Jin remained silent. Those same exact words were now echoing in his mind. This looked like his battle against Genkoumaru ALL OVER AGAIN. That feeling of not being able to protect his friends, to defend them from the dangers… In a blind fury, he looked up front, where he saw the Butler ramming in very uncharacteristically against Jin, attempting to jab him with a very rigid and even a bit oversized fist.

"FEEL WHAT IT'S LIKE TO DEFEND THE ONES YOU LOVE THE MOST, YOUNG HOOLIG-ARGH!!" Jin, suddenly having raised his arms in the air, remained with that fierce expression as that simple movement had raised a water cage from the ground. A large cube of water enough to imprison Mr. Butler was now containing him, in an attempt to drown him.

Struggling to move, though being locked inside a water-filled space with no air to breath was the ultimate penalty.

"… SUIZOKUKAN!!" Jin shouted, as that water maneuver had locked Mr. Butler in a prison of inevitable drowning.

(Suizokukan = Aquarium)

"Even though Devil Fruit powers may not be negated in my water, remaining in that watery prison will still render you stuck, as you cannot swim out of it, and I doubt your Devil Fruit ability can do anything about it… Now you see that I can defend my friends…" Jin exclaimed.

Inside the Suizokukan, the Butler had listened to Jin's speech, and knowing this was his fate, he simply smiled, before giving in to the water entering his lungs.

"_I believe I can see that now, young hooligan… no… young warrior!!"_ This being Henry Butler's last thought, as fell to the ground, as Jin canceled the Suizokukan attack.

"HERE HE IS!!" Came the voice of Harry, from the other side of the room. As Harry, Aven and Chris entered that division, they could only awe at the mess they encountered. Piles of rubble spread everywhere, an impossible number of cracks everywhere, and large dents on the walls, and even craters.

"Wow, whoever you were facing must've been pretty strong… Look at the state he left you in…" Chris said, though suddenly she took a look at Mr. Butler's unconscious body, as her eyes popped out of her head, in comical surprise. "THIS OLD GEEZER WAS YOUR OPPONENT?!?"

"Hey guys, there's a strange liquid inside this hole!" Aven exclaimed, taking a look at it, as while Jin placed his jacket and sandals back on, he took a glance at Aven and comically said. "Huh, if I were you I'd step away from it… that's where I puked!"

"EW! THAT'S SO NASTY!!" Aven exclaimed, in a disgusted, yet, hyperactive tone of voice, as she comically bumped against Harry, making him lose his balance as he fell down, headfirst into the hole of puke.

"AAARGH!!" Harry comically screamed, wiping his face as quickly as possible.

"Now seriously, was he as strong as this destroyed place makes him seem like?" Chris asked to Jin, as he took a glance at her before cryptically answering.

"No… He's actually much stronger than what this place makes him seem like, to be honest." Jin said, as chill ran down Chris's spine. "Hey Harry, we need you to perform mouth-to-mouth. It seems like he drowned thanks to one of Jin's attacks."

Harry, feeling disgusted by that idea, laid next to Mr. Butler's body and commented. "Actually, that won't be needed. I do know a bit about medicine, and all he needs is an accurate hit in the right place of his thorax, with the right amount of strength…" Harry commented, as he hit Mr. Butler's chest, creating a loud thump, forcing all of the water out of his lungs, making him cough. This, however, didn't manage to help him regain his consciousness.

"Wow, nice shot, doctor…" Jin stated, as Harry laughed.

"Thanks kid… Now to take care of this door…" Harry said, as he took a look at it. "You weren't able to bring it down? It's simply made of wood."

"Nope, I couldn't…"

"WAIT, I KNOW THAT WOOD! It's color… it's wood from the…" Aven said, as Chris suddenly finished her sentence for her.

"DON'T TELL ME THAT IT'S WOOD FROM THE NATURA KINGDOM!" Chris commented, now growing sicker and sicker of said material.

"Well kids, step aside… I'll bring it down…" Harry said, as he transformed to his Pig/Human hybrid form, before bringing his right fist back.

"_Don't worry, Noriko… Your nakama is on the way!!!" _Jin told himself, as the four of them waited for the moment they had been longing for.

"BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT RIGHT!!"

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

DONE. Sorry if last month had next to no updates, but school kept me busy. Well, I hope you have been satisfied. Without further due, read and review, and we'll see each other more comfortably next chapter… IF NOT, Merry Christmas and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


	16. Off Music, Dance and Brawls VII

"So, do you have anything new to share?" A silhouette of a medium sized man, possibly of black heritage, with a fairly big afro and dressed in a simple white shirt and brown khaki shorts, with white boots questioned.

The environment they were being subjected to at the moment was but a plain abandoned house in what seemed to be the middle of a desert. The house itself looked very rural, and was made of a very degrading wood. In the shadow, another figure remained hidden, grinning. With a snap of his fingers, he added in the answer longed from the afro-user.

"Not really… Then again, I wouldn't tell you much anyways." The figure stated, whilst smiling.

Scowling, the black man couldn't help but to throw a very icy look at his supposed colleague. "… Your behavior does not help us one bit! And so doesn't your lack of information. At least, do you know where I can find them?" The afro-user asked.

"Yeah, somewhere around the ocean of East Blue, I believe…"

"East Blue, huh… Very well! You shall see me again soon!" And with that, the supposed black man walked off, leaving behind a continuously grinning figure, still sitting by himself in the shadows of that old, abandoned house.

"We've never been as close as this… Each day, we get more recruits… We get one step closer to our goals… I guess this is…

…

… the cycle!"

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**Off Music, Dance and Brawls (VII)**

**Escape From the Sinking Ship**

"Man, you pack quite the punch, piggy!!" Aven cheerfully commented, offering a tick mark's appearance on Harry's forehead.

Apparently, Harry's punch had been enough to, not only blast the door open, but to actually split it in two halves. As an apparently cocky grin grew on his lips, Harry smashed his fist into the palm of his other hand as a sign of victory.

Jin had been, however, not even slightly amused by his pig-themed companion's obviously impressive strength, as his attention had been long focused on his new surroundings. This was what would be considered a "princess's bedroom". Much pink stuff was lying around, the carpet and the walls themselves possessing different shades of pink. Her bed, even though for a single person, was astoundingly enormous, and looked just like the average medieval princess's bed, with curtains taking the whole bed over all sides, covering the sheets and pillow.

"She must be here, somewhere…" Jin muttered, as he kept his eyes focused on his surroundings. Looking around, he ran to the bed, as he pulled the curtains apart. However, all he was unfortunately able to find was nothing but pink sheets and the pillow. Gripping those sheets with an ever-lasting fury, he ripped them all apart, as well as throwing the pillow across the room, before eventually knocking down the fine wooden pillars that supported the curtains, destroying the bed itself.

"Where the hell did that bitch hide Noriko in?!" Jin practically screamed at the top of his lungs, making him look like a feral demon, his scouting mission being now guided by his most primal instincts.

The moment he felt someone grab him by his shoulder, he violently turned around to find out who had dared to touch him in such a state. That person happened to be Harry, who seemed to be rather serious, as he looked straight in Jin's eyes.

"Kid, believe me, going berserk won't help you one bit!" Harry simply said, not even wasting any more time trying to get that little bit of advice into Jin's thick skull.

"But…"

"But what? Do you think tearing down this whole room will help you find her? She could be anywhere here, and all the time is of the essence." Harry told him, all the while never leaving his gaze off Jin's.

Jin remained there, looking at him straight in the eyes. After a few minutes however, Jin broke the staring contest and just sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry alright? It's just that this whole situation has been tearing me apart and I've had no rest so far. The thing I hate the most is people messing with my friends like this…" Jin excused himself, before setting foot towards a door that hadn't been curiously seen it. It was just a regular wooden door, however, to Jin it looked like something more.

Grabbing the doorknob, he then pulled it, not only creating a loud ruckus, but also, with the calmest of ways, literally ripping the door out of the wall, which freaked out both Chris and Aven, and even forcing Harry to raise an eyebrow in sheer shock.

Jin then looked at the three of them and asked. "What's with you three? It's not like you've never seen me do these "super strength" things before…"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'VE NEVER SEEN YOU PULL A DOOR OUT OF THE WALL AS EASILY AS THAT!!" Aven exclaimed, in her hyperactive tone of voice, whilst Chris just nodded as to agree with her.

Sharing a few laughs, Harry then patted Jin's back. "You are quite a strong one, kid." All of this contributed much to Jin's even greater confusion. However, as soon as he shrugged it off and decided to take advantage of the momentary silence to listen carefully. Behind that door was an old staircase that led downwards. Descending a few steps, he listened and listened until he came across a very meek tune. It sounded like… a violin being played.

"What is it, kid? Did you hear something?" Harry asked, as Jin nodded.

"Yeah, I did. Actually, I heard it just a few seconds ago, even before opening the door…"

"Tearing it off the wall, you mean…" Aven cheerfully corrected him.

"Yeah… I think we should go down these stairs. I got a feeling Noriko may be down there." Jin said, as the three of them nodded and followed Jin downstairs.

However, all the while Harry had also been in deep thought, even rubbing a finger on his abnormally salient chin whilst studying Jin, who had his back turned to his group and just kept stepping lower and lower on the staircase.

"_It's amazing… This kid was able to hear a sound blocked by a door, and located in a lower level of a space, even before I had managed to hear it… This is impressive… This exceeds all my expectations until now… And not to mention his superhuman durability… How can a kid survive getting hit so many times by someone that could leave a place in complete chaos through sheer brute strength??"_

Finally, on the lowest of all levels, they found what seemed to be a very rustic door with cell bars close to the top. The violin sound came from the inside of that dungeon-like room, and then both Jin and Harry looked at Chris, who grinned before pulling out her Crescent Dagger and jamming it right inside the lock. A few seconds later, a "click" sound was audible, and the cell door opened.

"Ha, still haven't lost my touch at all!" Chris commented, as she resheathed her Crescent Dagger back into her hat.

"Now to see if Noriko is… WHAT THE HELL??" Jin suddenly exclaimed, as the jaws of the four of them dropped onto the floor, comically cracking it, at the sight they were now witnessing.

Noriko had both arms chained to a wall, yet she was now barefoot and picked up her violin and with the help of her feet, she picked up and placed the bow between her toes and violin in between the others, thus playing the violin with her feet.

"Oh, you came… About time, huh?" Noriko commented, as she smiled at them, before placing both her violin and her respective bow down.

"Harry, maybe you should go take out her chains." Jin said, relieved that Noriko was alright.

However, before Harry even thought of moving, Noriko was already moving. She then rolled back against the wall, in an attempt to place her feet on the wall.

"That's not a problem, friends. I think I can move out of here and just… Ops!" Noriko had, however, gotten stuck in a very awkward position.

"… GAAAH!!!" Suddenly, however, Jin noticed something he shouldn't have and to the surprise of all… he had a very violent nosebleed and immediately fainted from blood loss.

Chris curiously looked over at Noriko and was quick to understand what had happened. Noriko's qipao had gotten entangled when the musician had decided to roll over, and her panties were now exposed. Harry comically blushed, as he looked away in embarrassment whilst Aven merely laughed it off.

Walking a few steps towards Noriko, Chris did the same lock picking trick with her Crescent Dagger on Noriko's chains, as she had been finally set free. Laughing it off, she placed her stilettos back on, and picked up both her bow and violin, snickering at Jin, who was still lying down, having what seemed to be epileptic seizures.

"Great, you're a pervert as well… A brutal fight that leaves everything in chaos isn't enough to KO you, and yet, seeing a woman's panties is…" Chris merely shook it off, as she helped Noriko up, who decided to do a few stretches before attempting to walk again.

"Heh, I'm good… Well, huh… I wanted to thank you for coming… Even though I might have given you a pretty hard time and all…" Noriko said, though Jin quickly stood up and smiled.

"Anything for a friend, Noriko! Whether you like it or not, we're nakama, and that's why we'll never abandon you." Jin told her, reassuring her while backing it all up with a very strong smile.

Grinning, she answered. "You know, about joining your crew, well, I…"

*THRAAASH, CREEEEEK*

A sudden impact, as strong as everything was suddenly felt, rocking the ship itself and forcing everyone to fall down. As the all looked, they looked in horror to the place where Noriko had once been chained.

That place had been pierced against what seemed to be an iceberg, and that tip of it was now right next to them, gashing a hole through the entire division. Harry then nodded in conclusion.

"We hit an iceberg. The ship has collided against an iceberg… Although this isn't possible at all, since we're on East Blue, with these types of waters…"

"…That are normally hot enough to take away all the possibilities of creating obstacles like… icebergs. That's normal, navigation knowledge." Jin concluded Harry's sentence, nodding at the amazing sight before him.

"I thought these sorts of abnormalities were only recurrent in the Grand Line, where it's…."

"LOOK, WE COULD ALL STAY HERE AND CHAT, BUT THERE'S WATER COMING INTO THE SHIP!! THE SHIP IS SINKING!!!" Chris said, as she rose her feet from the floor, as the hole created by the incoming tip of the iceberg was allowing water to leak into the ship.

"You know, this reminds me of a song that…"

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR IT, NORIKO!! LET'S JUST GET OUT OF HERE!!!" Everybody said, interrupting what could have been another concert by Noriko, while comically dragging her out of the division.

----------

"OH MY GOD, THREE DEVIL FRUIT EATERS AND AN ENORMOUS WAVE IS COMING AFTER US!! JIN, DO SOMETHING!!!" Chris shouted, whilst they were all running through that familiar corridor from before. However, a huge quantity of water had managed to leak into the ship, as a gigantic wave was now seemingly chasing them.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I WOULDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME BEFORE THAT THING SWALLOWS ME INTO MY DEATH!!" Jin shouted back, before suddenly remembering something.

"Noriko, can you play any note on your violin that can stop that wave?" Jin asked, before Noriko just looked at him, puzzled.

"Huh… what? I don't think so…" Noriko answered, scratching the back of her head.

"I'm out of ideas, then." Jin said in a comical tone, much to Chris's dismay.

"YOU MORON! WHAT KIND OF IDEA IS THAT??" Chris asked in a very comical outburst, as they all suddenly stopped.

Right in front of them was yet another wave of water coming right in against them.

"Ah damn it, it must've gained a secondary hole somewhere in the ship…" Harry said, before looking to his left in exasperation. "EVERYONE GET IN HERE." Harry said, as he opened a steel door that was located between many pipes. In what seemed like less than a second, the whole group managed to rush inside, as a loud clang signaled the door's closure, right before the two waves collided against each other.

----------

"What now?" Noriko suddenly asked.

Aven then rubbed her chin in seeming wondering. "Well, we COULD stay here and wait for the inevitable… I can create a pretty nice deck of cards with my powers for us to play and…"

"THAT'S NOT AN OPTION!!" Everybody else shouted, in the trademark, comical shark face.

"Hmm… Well, we're inside a metal container of sorts… I have no idea what this room was used for, anyways…" Harry said. Everywhere you'd look, there would be more and more pipes, and a few of them had a few holes that were letting out steam.

Looking up, Chris them remembered something. "Does anyone know if the water is only present in this floor of the ship?"

"Well, yeah, I do know for a fact that the breach made by the iceberg is the only thing allowing water to get in. That's why we're sinking. The more water that rises into the ship, the more we sink." Harry stated.

"Hmm… Well, the only way is…"

"Going up?" Aven said, attempting to finish Chris's sentence, who in turn smiled.

"Exactly, Aven."

"… Well, that can be arranged!" Harry exclaimed, before turning to his pig/human hybrid form. He then reeled back his leg, before kicking the air upwards, unleashing a considerably large shockwave.

"BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT BLASTOFF!!!" The shockwave itself was so strong that it managed to strike the steel ceiling with a powerful enough force to blast a hole in it.

However, much to the shock of everyone else, the shockwave didn't disperse. It kept on going, creating hole after hole in the many layers of the ship until it eventually was sent flying away into thin air, as the sun light could now be visible from the point where they were standing.

"Nice work, Harry!" Jin commented, as he high-fived the Zoan Devil Fruit user.

"Hehe, thanks kid. Ok now, we really need to…"

Harry's speech was however interrupted as the water managed to break into the room. In the midst of everyone's shock, Jin however grabbed everyone by their clothes, and shot water jets from his feet. He then flew high up in the air, taking advantage of the path created by Harry's attack, as they were now being chased by the water that was also elevating into the air.

"Shit…" Jin said, as in the last second before the torrent of water caught up with them, he flew out of the ship, as the water shot up from the hole in a way that reminisced that of a volcano shooting out magma.

Down below, in the ship's main deck, the passengers were now being taken out in Marine ships that had been probably warned by Radio Mushis. And from up there, we can see a limping, exhausted Mr. Butler entering a ship, while helping Nera Kenizuma hop on. Looking back at the ship, she screamed in angst before developing a threatening glare on her facial expression.

"DON'T YOU FILTHY PIRATES THINK YOU'VE SEEN THE LAST OF ME! I'LL BE BACK! THIS ISN'T THE LAST TIME YOU'VE HEARD OF NERA KENI – WHAT THE???" The Marine ship then made an unexpected bump in the iceberg, as Nera fell down onto the ocean, before the Marines quickly dove right in to rescue her, as she comically struggled not to drown.

On a small raft, we could see that other strange that had helped distract Nera and the angry mob that had followed her. He smiled, before placing back his two handguns.

"We will meet again, Jinketsu Namura… And when that day comes… You will do a favor for me." He said, as he and the raft eventually disappeared into the mist that had started to appear from the iceberg zone.

----------

"Hmm, so this is the iceberg." Jin stated, looking around. "How the heck could such a thing be…"

"I can answer that." Came the voice of someone that emerged from the icy plains in the iceberg.

This man was black, and he had a fairly big afro and was dressed in a simple white shirt and brown khaki shorts, with white boots to compliment his torso vestments. Taking a look around, his gaze fell to Aven.

"You need to come with me." The man simply said, before walking up to her.

"Aven, do you know this guy?" Chris asked her, ready to unsheathe her Crescent Dagger.

It didn't take any time for Aven to become frightened by the sight of the man walking up to her. Something they hadn't seen. Her fear was even greater than when Genkoumaru had tried to capture her back in Lilina Island.

"Oh no… Please, don't let him… DON'T LET HIM GET ANY CLOSE!!" Aven screamed, as Jin suddenly encased his fists in water and dashed at the man.

"YOU BASTARD! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HER, I'LL…" Jin couldn't finish his sentence, as in the moment he was almost inches from the man, the afro-wearing individual grabbed him by the neck. Suddenly, in what seemed like a mere second, ice began covering Jin's body until the Waterman eventually resembled nothing more but an ice statue.

Much to the shock of everyone, the man that had apparently rendered Jin helpless in less than 5 seconds could only grin in amusement.

"Hmm… So this is all that Jinketsu Namura is about? How pathetic…

…

… No… This is simply ridiculous."

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

OH MAN, SORRY FOR TAKING SOOO FREAKING LONG. Vacation was only helpful for school work, and January was crazy… But none the less, I hope you people enjoyed it, and no worries. This may've been a bit crappy, but the next chapter may compensate somehow.

Until then, read and review!!!


	17. The First, Real Threat

"Admiral Taikoushi?" The voice of a Marine soldier came from one of the many corridors of Marine HQ, Marineford.

(Taikoushi is a Japanese fusion of words, Taikou meaning "Light Pink" and Shi being part of the word "Lion". Taikoushi means Light Pink Lion.)

The Marineford Building now stood taller than ever. Ever since the Great Whitebeard War, this majestic sight and the Island that it stood on had never been the same. The three colossal skyscrapers and the city that surrounded them were now different. They weren't as plain as they were in the times of the First and Second Pirate Kings. Now, they inhaled and exhaled magnificence, power and supremacy. The barriers that surrounded them along the crescent moon bay in the times of war were no longer made with that special steel. They were now made of reinforced diamond, even harder and more durable than regular diamond, something that would assure this Justice Fortress's continuous and flawless defense.

This Admiral stood there, looking into the outside from one of the many windows of that corridor. He was dressed in a pink/dark pink pinstripe suit, with a light orange tie. He had a pink trilby hat that hid most of his face, only partially revealing his mouth. He also had the usual Marine cape draped over his shoulders, as the wind that blew into the window made the cape edges fly a bit.

Turning his head slightly to the side, he addressed the soldier that called him. "What is it?" That mere, seemingly calm tone of voice was enough to send a particular icy shiver of fear down the soldier's spine, who quivered with each word he used to reply.

"I-It's nothing s-serious, sir. I-It's just that Fleet A-Admiral Sakazuki asked me to deliver you this n-note." The Marine soldier replied, handing over a piece of paper to his Superior.

Taking it in a swift motion that startled the Marine soldier, Admiral Taikoushi quickly opened the note, and took a quick read. Curving his mouth down in a manner of disgust, he quickly tore it to pieces and freed them by the window, as they were taken away by the sudden gust of wind.

Shocked to his very core, the Marine soldier stood in a saluting position as he noticed Admiral Taikoushi taking a foothold on the window. Making a quick salute, he took a last look at the soldier before him.

"Tell him that he can shove that small village "inspection" up his ass. We don't need any more "minor casualties" whenever he decides that humble, small town villagers may be international assassins or smugglers…" And with that, in the blink of the soldier's eyes, Admiral Taikoushi vanished, leaving only a small cloud of dust where he once stood.

Nervous, the soldier wondered to himself. "Now, how can I give such a reply to Fleet Admiral Sakazuki?? GAH, this is why I hate delivering Admiral Taikoushi any message…"

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**The First, Real Threat**

**Tears Dropping Down the Ice**

"W-W-What did he do? Jin…" Chris stuttered, losing her grip on her dagger, as it fell down on the ice.

Jin was covered in ice, just like a statue. Removing his hand from Jin's neck, he kicked Jin in his rib section, much to the sudden shock and fear of everyone, as the statue flew to their zone. In a sudden jump, Harry caught Jin just in time, as he placed him on the icy floor, ultimately preoccupied with his utterly demolished rib section, now baring a very disturbing dent.

"Do not worry. As soon as he dries the ice, he will recover that body part he lost from the water. He IS a water Logia, after all… Let's, however, just pray he knows how to use those Logia properties, though." The man mockingly proclaimed, as Harry gritted his teeth in anger before suddenly lashing out at the man, turning into his Hybrid form.

"Let's see if you'll keep laughing after this. Now that I've seen through your power, I know a bit of ice won't be the death of me!

BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT RIGHT!!!" The fist went at incredible speeds, even compressing the air it passed by, as the stranger rolled to the side, avoiding the attack by a mere inch.

Harry didn't give up just there, as he turned his head to his foe, and rotated his body in his direction. Using his body's rotation, he brought his leg up right before dropping it in a sudden, violent motion onto the icy floor. The resulting impact forced ice chunks to rise from the iceberg ground, as the sudden fissure began growing towards his opponent's direction.

"BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT TRANSPORT!!"

Smirking, the man placed his hand over the floor in front of him. As the fissure was now mere meters away, a sudden wall of ice rose from the floor, as the fissure went against it, the impact collision creating an explosion of air that threw bits of icy rubble everywhere.

"Do you know what I do to meatheads? I turn them into minced meat!" The man spat, although he was surprised to see Harry jumping at him from the enormous cloud of dust that had formed from that early explosion.

"Let's see your ice helping you now!" Harry commented, as his reeled back left arm was now ready to pummel him.

"Robert Jackson's power does not give him control over ice…" Aven's voice trailed off, as Noriko glanced at her.

"What? Wait, you started speaking!! What do you mean with…?" Noriko questioned, though Aven's speech cut her off.

"His power is much vaster, much… deadlier. His Devil Fruit power has granted him control over…"

At the same time as she was going to finish her sentence, Harry had now sent his fist down while in midair.

"BUTA DAGEKI: IMPACT L-" He couldn't finish the attack's name, as the man had bent his knees, standing in a knight's position as he drove his hand forward to Harry's chest and tilted his head to the side. This way, he avoided that left punch Harry had thrown at him, but in this position, with his back slightly arched, he held Harry in the air. It seemed like an eternity until Harry felt something burning on his chest. Suddenly, the burn became unbelievably painful, as Harry screamed in agony, much to the shock of Chris and Noriko.

With a sudden display of physical power, the afro-using man launched Harry right next to the girls, as Harry fell down with violence, holding on to his chest. Coming to his aid, Chris removed his hands away from the burn, as even smoke started coming out. Harry gained a burn that had the shape of his foe's hand, but the burn was so hot that Noriko and Aven felt an extremely strong wave of heat flowing by them, as the heat was too much for Chris to handle. Harry's burn was so hot that it even began bubbling, his skin deforming and the blood beginning to drop down on the ice, instantly melting it.

"GAAAAH, IT BURNS!!" Harry screamed, rolling around on the ice floor for a while until he eventually passed out from the pain.

"That is correct. I'm Robert Jackson. I have eaten the Kion Kion no Mi, the Temperature fruit. Thus, I have gained the ability to manifest and withstand any kind of temperature, from extremely high to extremely cold… Nothing is too hot or too cold for me!" The man, apparently named Robert Jackson stated, as he scratched the back of his head.

Readying herself, holding the Crescent Dagger in a vertical position, pointing to Robert, Chris began zigzagging in his direction. From left to right, as quickly as she could, she attempted to take a swing at Robert, avoiding any contact from him. Smirking, he followed her movements, sidestepping every slash she threw at him.

"It's no use. You are nowhere near my level of power. And besides…" Robert suddenly took a hold of Chris's arm, the same one holding the Dagger. Thanks to that, he used his powers to freeze Chris's arm, rendering her offensive completely useless. And just like a disposable piece of trash, he threw her away, sending her crashing against an ice wall. "… Unfortunately for you, I am also blessed with a fair amount of physical strength, as well."

"NOW NORIKO!!" Chris yelled, as her body fell down on the floor, limp and bruised.

"What the-?" Robert questioned to himself, as he spun around and watched as Noriko came down from the air, at an incredible speed that almost made her seem like a blur, holding a Sabre on her hand, pointing the tip of its blade at Robert's skull.

"Let's see how you handle my Fencing style attacks!!"

As soon as Noriko proclaimed that same sentence, the corner of Robert's lips curved up.

"So you people have believed all this time that I can only manifest my power through physical contact? Gosh, you are indeed too naïve for your own good." Robert Jackson commented, as even though Noriko was still a few meters from hitting him, he threw his arms in her direction, and his whole body began trembling.

"Enjoy a taste of Hell, by the cook of Satan himself.

INFERNO!!" A wave of extreme heat suddenly manifested through the air, hitting Noriko dead on.

The pain she felt from the burns caused by that attack forced her senses to black out, as her body fell down on the icy floor. Amazingly, the attack did not stop there, as the heat wave was able to instantly melt half of the iceberg they were on, as well as raise a lot of steam from a good portion of the ocean ahead of them.

Looking down on the ground, his eyes suddenly shot open as he noticed that the body lying charred and burned on the ground was not of his last attacker… But of Aven herself.

"How did you…" He then looked back to where his opponents were knocked down, and noticed that Noriko's body stood there, unharmed and unconscious. He then looked back at Aven and smirked.

"A final act of self-sacrifice… Using your illusions, you stopped your comrade from attacking me and instead made me think you were her… You thought… No, you KNEW I wouldn't leave you in such condition if I had known it was you attacking me." He stood next to the unconscious body of Harry and stuck a piece of paper on his hands right before picking up Aven's body, as he walked away from that iceberg. As soon as his foot touched the water of the ocean, an ice block formed on his sole, allowing him to walk on. This action kept repeating itself until he was out of view. "But not even you knew that my powers could manifest through the air like that. Unlucky you… Say goodbye to your friends, Devil's Illusionist… At least just for now, I believe."

---------

_Just as Robert Jackson had narrated, we can now see the moment Chris has her arm frozen by her foe and was after that sent crashing against that ice wall. _

_While dropping down on the ground, she yelled with her last breath. "NOW NORIKO!!" _

_As Noriko was about to dash in Robert's direction, someone held her shoulder to prevent her from continuing. She didn't even have time to turn around, as she suddenly felt a slight pressure on her clavicle, and someone whispering something close to her ear._

"_Pressure Point nº11…"_

_As Noriko passed out, the person that had done this to her dropped her body on the icy ground and dashed to Robert. _

_Robert, thinking that the one attacking him was Noriko, used his Inferno attack on his attacker. Suddenly, like an illusion breaking out of his mind, he realized that the one that had tried to attack him was actually the one he had been looking for._

----------

It felt like many hours later, but Harry was back on the ship. He had now placed Noriko to rest on a bed, and was now closing the door of that room.

His chest had been severely burnt, and it would take a lot of time until his skin would heal. And that was to say, if it ever healed.

He walked by a small bathroom, and noticed Chris was there, now back to her senses as well, resting her frozen arm on a tub of hot water. On that same tub laid Jin, unconscious but with his head now visible and out of the ice, although the same couldn't be said about the rest of his body.

Harry still kept laying his eyes on his thorn off rib section, praying that could be solved with Jin's very own Devil Fruit powers. He walked back to his room, shutting the door behind him.

He then sat on a small desk near his bed, and began reading the piece of paper he had found on his hands the moment he had regained his senses. After he finished reading it, even taking his time to read it more than once to make sure he was reading it right, he dropped it back on the desk and simply kept looking at it, his shot open, along with a shocked expression glued to his face.

"That kid… isn't going to like this one bit."

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

Ok readers. You can hit me all you want, and say the waiting wasn't worth it, but to make it up for the lack of size of this chapter, I tried to put in a lot of new things. SO, Aven was kidnapped by Robert Jackson, and now Harry has read the note left by him.

Until next time, read and review, and keep paying attention to the adventures of the one guy who ate the mythical Mizu Mizu no Mi, Jinketsu Namura.


	18. CAUTION, Hazardous Level I

A/N: I AM TRULY SORRY FOR WAITING ON YOU FOR SOOO LONG. IT'S BEEN OVER A YEAR, AND HOW I HOPE YOU ALL HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS! Still, in my defense, I had writer's block, was short on ideas, had work to do and loose ideas to organize. It has been kind of a bummer, but I can assure you that things will be different from now on. I've got my ideas in place now, and they will render this story for a long time!

Now, without further ado, I present to you…

* * *

"How is he?"

The voice of Harry ran like an echo throughout the small bathroom where Chris laid on her knees next to the tub that kept getting hot water poured into it. Chris's arm was no longer frozen, as she had also returned her Crescent Dagger back to the small sheath on her hat. Harry carefully stepped into the bathroom, making sure not to slip by a few water puddles that had been made around that small space.

"He's almost defrosted… I swear I don't know how hot the water must be for this ice to defrost quicker." Chris commented out of frustration, before placing Jin's right arm around her shoulders and slowly taking him out of the tub.

Moving in, he quickly took Jin out of her grasp and carefully leveled his unconscious body on his shoulders. He then walked out of the bathroom and walked to a nearby, small infirmary. Removing Jin's blood-soaked orange jacket, he looked at the disgusting injury before him.

The left side of Jin's rib cage had been completely destroyed. It's as if in that zone all flesh, muscles and bones had been completely ripped out, as the fact his body temperature had now began rising, the blood began dripping from that wound at an incredible pace.

"_It's a miracle he is still alive… First, the fight against that old man and then this punishment and being completely frozen, and as the final act, this horrible wound…" _Harry shuddered, before removing a few bandages from one of the drawers. _"So this is the kind of people Graybeard has been recruiting… Unbelievable. So young, yet so strong…"_ He then unwrapped the bandages and strapped them around his rib cage, being sure to clean and disinfect the wound properly.

"This is fine enough. It will be a whole mountain of pain for him to climb after he wakes up… Strong kid, though!" Harry said to himself, before laying Jin down on the infirmary bed, pulling the covers over him.

Taking a last look at him, he laid the message Robert Jackson had left to them on a small table next to the bed. With that, Harry walked out of the room before closing the door behind him.

* * *

**The Way of the Kaizoku**

**CAUTION, Hazardous Level (I)**

**The Contaminated Island of Flowers, Hyakka**

* * *

"So, how's he doing?" Came the voice of Chris, who stood at the ship's deck, passing her Crescent Dagger between her fingers.

"I'm not sure, kid. This is beyond all of the times I had to serve as a second-handed doctor. I have never seen someone survive that much damage and I've seen plenty of it…" Harry finished, before gazing at the ocean.

"And what about Noriko?" Chris asked, as well worrying about her other new nakama.

"She's doing fine, she's just unconscious. It's incredible to believe the other kid would even sacrifice herself in the end just so this new kid wouldn't get hurt… It's amazing how grateful her heart must have been to us." Harry commented.

"Yeah… Or maybe even more to Jin. She knew he wouldn't want any friend of his to get hurt, no matter what." Chris replied, as Harry silently nodded. Taking a slight step forward, she directed her very cold gaze straight to Harry. "You, however, keep on being as mysterious as ever."

"What do you mean, kid?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at her sudden shot.

"You know damn well what I mean. Jin may not have seen it, but either he has too much to worry about right now or he's just downright blind… You are no normal pirate." Chris finished, pointing her finger accusingly at him.

"No normal pirate? Wait, what do you…?"

"You let me win our match on purpose back on Fuschia, didn't you? You could have kept on fighting, but instead you just pulled a show… I can see through your acts, and…"

"WAIT, WAIT!" Harry interrupts. "I didn't do any of that. Besides, why would I do that? I mean, c'mon, I'm just a generous pirate that decided to help you all out. Some dumb pirate, I am, apparently…"

"Oh, but there's more than meets the eye and I know exactly how that is like."

"No doubt, but what do you….?"

"Your knowledge. You are incredibly strong. You have decent knowledge on medicine. You even knew the anatomy of a Cruise Ship, showing at least a bit of knowledge in the field of a shipwright. You…"

Suddenly, the ship stepped its cruise into raging seas, rocking the boat from side to side as each wave felt like a rollercoaster, as the winds blew harder than ever. The clouds became as dark as coal wherever they seemed to be sailing to, as the roar of a few casual thunders were now loud enough to give out a warning to any trespassing sailors.

"Shit, a storm is coming. Go wake up that crazy musician girl and go take care of that Jin kid, for now." Harry said, before lifting up the sails of the ship and tying a few ropes around certain zones of the sides of the ship.

Narrowing her eyes, Chris gave up on her interrogation and decided to go inside the ship to check up on her fellow crewmate. Still, she gave a quick glance towards Harry, committed to uncovering this secret of Harry's. She had this strong hunch that there was more to Harry than just your regular pirate. Heck, ever since they went on board his ship, Chris began suspecting him.

For now, however, she would put this at rest… But just for now.

* * *

The streets were deserted. In fact, at this very moment, there had to be a whole lot of city blocks, if not, all of them on a lock down. The many dozens, if not hundreds, of Marine Soldiers and Captains stationed in this particular Island had made a Lockdown announcement. In fact, there were many noticeable signs all spread around town, warning the following:

**CAUTION: HAZARDOUS INFECTION!**

"Roger that. We have found three more infected civilians. We believe we have all targets at hand. Over." And with that came the confirmation of one of the Marine Soldiers that had been spread into different groups all around town.

The Marine Soldiers then placed the supposed "infected civilians" inside their hovering truck, but said people were maintained away from view, and drove by a few more blocks until they disappeared from sight.

From out of the shadows, however, right from behind a few boxes that had been piled up next to a Convenience Store building came out someone. This person, whoever it was, possessed a short stature. The individual in question wore a pair of blue shorts, a green open vest, and had over his forehead a pair of welder goggles with loose double straps. He also a loose appendage growing from behind him… Just like a tail, and in similarity to his belly, he had bandages wrapped around it. However, the most noticeable characteristic was the three swords he was holding. One in each arm, one slightly larger than the other, and then an even smaller one being held up by the tail-like appendage.

That individual then ran from one building's corner to the other, always maintaining himself in the shadows, in hopes of not getting spotted, at a surprising speed.

"_I must find out who did this… No crime should go unpunished like this."_

* * *

"So, are we anywhere near reaching a new island?" Noriko asked, as she went to join Chris and Harry to the deck, both who had been silent before she arrived. "That was quite a storm. Maybe fate brought us closer to our next destination. And THAT deserves a song RIGHT HERE, AND RIGHT NOW!"

As Noriko's music played in the background, Chris managed to lighten up a bit before joining in and sitting next to Noriko, listening to her tunes. Harry, however, took another last look at the horizon through his binoculars and muttered.

"We're close to Hyakka Island… And I got a bad feeling about this." It wasn't a feeling that was only exceptional to Harry, however. There had to be at the very least a dozen Marine ships stationed at the docks.

"So many Marine Ships? Are there any Marine HQs located at that Island?" Noriko asked, to which Harry just silently shook his head.

With that, their ship just kept sailing towards this new Island. The wind maintained its rhythm, as did the waves of the ocean. Taking a last look at the clouds, Harry just sighed before looking back at Chris, who silently went back to Jin's room, in hopes of witnessing him waking up. That had to be the 10th time in this last hour. Was she just trying to avoid him… Or was she more concerned about Jin's current state than every single person on that ship?

Harry then stood at the steering wheel, shaking his head to clear away those thoughts, maneuvering the ship against the brutal waves that came crashing down due to the effect of these unusually strong winds that got more fierce the closer they got to the Island.

Then it came to him. Normally, these many ships would be stationed if a highly wanted criminal had been spotted on the Island. But news used to be quick, and nothing had been stated on the newspapers of that day. So, it could be either that or…

* * *

"… an Island-wide Contained Infection."

Came the voice of one of two marine soldiers stationed currently at the docks, having a small conversation to pass the time.

"Oh, so that's what we're doing here? My God, my day couldn't get any worse." Was the current conversation between two Marine soldiers, as they boarded off their respective Marine Ship, and onto Hyakka Island.

"Keep saying that, and you'll end up scrubbing every each infected bathroom of the Island." Replied the other, as both laughed heartily.

Suddenly, someone stepped in front of them, as the two ceased their laughing and remained still, saluting this new character. He was a short man, shorter than average, probably around 5'7, with tanned skin, lean figure and defined muscles, a wooden ring pierced on his left earlobe and had your standard marine clothes on. However, he looked rather young, with emerald-colored hair and piercing green eyes. He also wore a divided and partially ripped white robe around his waist, securely strapped by around 3 belts of three different colors in order of green, yellow and red and strapped by a single buckle in the middle, the buckle having the shape of a lion with a crown on its head, holding a scepter close to him with its right arm. In the back of the robe, he had the Marines symbol nicely designed, as it sprawled along the robe, which draped along the back of his legs, covering a tad bit of the front. He also had headphones around his neck, with low Reggae music coming from them.

But the most interesting, and least to say, intimidating characteristic was the fact he carried a gigantically long sword on his back in a diagonal position, the sword in itself being around 6'7 in height alone, and around 10 inches in width. The hilt was fabulously decorated with a light wooden-like spiral design, and its guard had a shape of two tree branches, with decorative leaves along them. Its center held an apple ornament. The gigantic blade that rose from the guard was simply white, extremely sharp and a bit thick in width, even though it could, no doubt about it, cleave a human being in two with a simple swing. The blade also had mysterious runes along it, drawn deeply into it.

Finally, its pommel on the bottom of the hilt had the shape of a seven leaved weed hanging by a small chain.

The two marines gulped, as they saluted the man in front of them. After what seemed like an eternity, they said at the same time.

"WARRANT OFFICER MARI JUÁN, SIR!"

The man, apparently named Mari Juán, and holding the Marines position of Warrant Officer, looked at them for a few seconds, before giving the two of them a warm, caring smile.

"C'mon, you two, at ease, my men… Or whatever I should say, wee-dahahaha!" He said, as he laughed for a bit. "You should have kept laughing, though. In times like these, in this kind of rare situations where one can barely keep his cool, it's good to see people laughing and smiling."

The two Marine soldiers stood still for a moment, before relaxing and laughing along with their superior. Warrant Officer Mari Juán only sighed, as he looked outwards to the long ocean before him.

"I'm sick and tired of saying this, but I'll say it again: I don't care how the World Government's cold attitude towards the Peace is always emphasized, but I will not be another lifeless, emotionless pet of theirs. We can all fight with peace, for peace. Isn't that right, guys?" Warrant Officer Juán asked at his two soldiers, as they both nodded happily.

He then walked away, back into the city.

"Though happy, you should always keep your eyes open for trouble… It always happens at the worst ti-AH, MAN!" he shouted, as he bonked his head against a street light.

He then turned around to his men, smiling like an idiot, before resuming his walk. He then told himself.

"I saw the ocean, but I could've sworn I saw a non-marine ship moving towards the other side of the island… I sure hope they just turned around or something, because it'll raise trouble… Trouble means stress… And I don't want it!" He sadly stated, with an exaggerated sigh.

* * *

"Do you think they might've seen us?" Noriko asked, a bit worried.

"Are you kidding me? We have to be at least 3 kilometers away from the Island, and unless their headquarters are paranoid enough to constantly keep watch of the ships near their surroundings, I don't see how we can raise suspicions." Harry replied.

"But we're the only ship going there at the moment, don't you think someone could see us?" Noriko asked.

"Through binoculars, of course. Though I suspect that the reason that there are so many Marine ships gathered isn't just because they have stationed Marine HQ in that island…" Harry said, as he turned the ship around a bit more.

"Then what is it?" Noriko asked, out of a bit more curiosity.

"I'll tell you when we get there. Right now, I'm turning this ship around the island to make sure we moor on the opposite side of the island, got it?" Harry asked,

"Of course, Harry! AH, such stealth! THIS DESERVES ANOTHER MELODY!" Noriko said with joy, before picking up her violin and playing another tune, this one very calm and sinister, which made Harry grin.

"Now that's more like it, kid!" Harry cheerfully said. He then said to himself. "Besides, no normal human being can look into what's in a distance of 3 kilometers with nothing but his naked eye..."

* * *

Chris sat beside Jin's bed in his room, as Jin was still unconscious. She made sure to keep his temperature acceptable by covering him with a blanket and washing parts of his torso from time to time with a cloth drenched in warm water. She also had a medical kit right next to her, just in case his bandages needed to be replaced, and his desolate wound taken care of.

"C'mon Jin… Don't die on us already, you lazy bastard... This is no time… to be sleeping…"She yawned all of a sudden, before laying her head gently on Jin's shoulder.

Had she been awake for a bit longer, she could've noticed that his fingers on his left hand had started to slowly...

…

…move.

And then the movement ceased, as quickly as it had began.

* * *

!TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

Okay now, I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Anyways, let us see how it all works out for Jin's crew in this new island!

Read and review, everyone!


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